Airbus SE is planning to buy the French IT company Atos's big data and cyber security unit, known as BDS, for an amount ranging between $1.6 and $1.9 billion, the Financial Times reported, citing sources familiar with the deal.
The two companies are set to announce the offer on Wednesday in Atos's bid to restructure and cut its debt, currently standing at $2.4 billion. The negotiations between Airbus and Atos are not exclusive, which allows for other companies to stake their claim on BDS, one of which might be the Thales Group, sources told the news agency.
The sale of BDS came as a part of the restructuring effort led by the recently appointed chairman, Jean Pierre Mustier, who also engaged in the renegotiation of the deal made between Mustier's predecessor and Daniel Kretinsky, who bought a 7.5% stake in Atos's Eviden, which several stakeholders deemed unfair.
