Airbus plots £1.6m takeover of French cybersecurity firm

AIRBUS is in talks to acquire the cyber security and data division of French IT company Atos for up to €1.8bn (£1.6bn).

The European aerospace and defence giant confirmed yesterday it was in discussions about buying Atos’s BDS business, which provides secure communications to French military and France’s spy agencies.

Airbus is one of two bidders said by Atos to have expressed an interest, with the other thought to be rival French defence giant Thales.

But Atos said it has entered a due diligence process with Airbus after it offered to buy all of BDS, unlike the unnamed rival bidder.

The talks come as Airbus, best known for manufacturing its commercial jets, is seeking to expand its cyber capabilities amid growing interest in digital defence services globally.

A spokesman for Airbus said: “In line with its ambition to grow as a European aerospace, defence and cybersecurity leader, Airbus has been exploring potential strategic opportunities with Atos. Airbus confirms that it has submitted a non-binding proposal in relation to a potential acquisition of Atos’ big data & security business line.”

Airbus added that acquiring BDS could speed up the company’s digital transformation. It follows the aerospace giant’s previous attempt to buy a minority stake in the wider Atos division, which includes BDS, known as Eviden.

That bid generated controversy, with investors such as Sir Chris Hohn warning Airbus it would be an “extremely inefficient” use of funds.

The fresh talks come as Atos is in the process of a corporate breakup, as it seeks to head off €2bn in debt payments due over the next two years.

Shares in Atos have tumbled by 90pc in the past three years, with investors troubled by profit warnings and the company’s slow shift towards cloudbased IT services. The future of the company has attracted close French government scrutiny.

Yesterday, analysts at Jefferies predicted BDS was worth between €1.5bn and €2.5bn.

They added: “We see the rationale of the deal as much sounder than acquiring a minority stake, given control of the assets of interest to Airbus.

“However, we believe the group would still have to defend that this is not a politically driven deal, aimed at funding Atos’ transformation plan.”

Atos has also reportedly held talks about selling part of its business to EP Equity Investment (EPEI), which is owned by billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, known as the “Czech Sphinx”.