Atos shares soared on the Paris Bourse on Monday, driven by speculation that Airbus may acquire a stake in Atos' digital transformation subsidiary, Evidian.

According to Les Echos, which cited several sources, Airbus has entered into "exploratory" discussions with a view to acquiring a minority stake in Atos' digital and cybersecurity arm.

At around 10:30 a.m., Atos shares were up by almost 11% in volumes that were already almost double their average for the last four sessions.

The stock was the second biggest riser on the SBF 120 index, which was up by 1.5% at the same time.

In a reaction note, analysts at Invest Securities describe the transaction as "friendly" and in line with Atos management's current strategy of bringing in reference shareholders for Evidian.

In any case, momentum could return to positive territory for Atos after several very complicated years, including a disastrous 2022 financial year (-76% for the share price)", recalls the brokerage firm.

Last September, Atos announced that it had received an unsolicited offer from the French company Onepoint, associated with the investment fund ICG, for the potential acquisition of Evidian for 4.2 billion euros.

The technology group decided not to respond, preferring to focus on advancing its demerger project according to the original timetable.

According to Les Echos, Thales - which remains 'potentially interested in any cybersecurity assets that might be available for sale' - would not, at this stage, be part of the planned scheme.

The share price of the defense electronics manufacturer - the best performer on the CAC 40 last year - fell by 0.2% following this news.

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