Thought Leadership
The struggling French IT service provider Atos is divesting its Worldgrid unit. As announced by the company on Tuesday, an agreement has been signed with the French engineering services provider Alten for a sale at an enterprise value of 270 million euros.
The unit for sale, Worldgrid, is a specialist for IT services in the energy and utility sector. The company has made a name for itself with tailor-made consulting services for energy suppliers, technical engineering and the integration of complex systems to optimize energy supply networks.
The buyer Alten has established itself as one of the leading providers of engineering services and technology solutions. The company, which is active in the fields of consulting, engineering and research and development, has a broad international network and serves customers from strategically important sectors such as the automotive, aviation and energy industries.
The transaction, which is expected to be completed this year, comes in the context of increased efforts by the French government to stabilize the strategically important company. Despite its economic difficulties, Atos is considered one of the most important European companies in the software and technology sector.
The necessary regulatory hurdles have already been cleared: The EU Commission gave the green light in September and the Commercial Court in Nanterre followed suit last month. The Worldgrid unit up for sale employs 1,100 people and generated a turnover of 170 million euros last year.
For Atos, the sale represents a further step in its restructuring process.
