Atos to acquire Bull to create a European global leader in [...]

📅 May 28, 2014 - Atos, an international information technology services company, and Bull, the trusted partner for enterprise data, together announced today the intended public offer in cash by Atos for all the issued and outstanding shares in the capital of Bull.
Atos offer is set at €4.90 per Bull's share in cash, representing a 22% premium over the Bull's closing price (€4.01) on Friday May 23rd, 2014, the last trading day before this announcement, and a 30% premium with respect to the 3 month volume weighted average share price (€3.77).The offer will also target the outstanding Bull's OCEANEs at €5.55 per OCEANEs.
The offer values the fully diluted share capital of Bull Group at approximately €620 million. The offer is subject to reaching a minimum 50% + 1 share of Bull's share capital acceptance level, and Atos intends to ultimately delist the Bull shares by way of squeeze-out or a subsequent merger between the two companies.
On Sunday May 25th, 2014, the Board of Directors of Bull has expressed its full and unanimous support for the transaction and has appointed pursuant to the AMF regulation an independent expert to provide a fairness opinion on the terms of the offer.
The Board of Directors of Atos held on Friday May 23rd, 2014 also expressed its full and unanimous support for the transaction.
Crescendo Industries and Pothar Investments, representing in aggregate Bull largest shareholder with 24.2% share capital have both committed to tender their shares to the Atos bid.
Thierry Breton, Chairman and CEO of Atos said: “I welcome this combination as a major step to anchor our European leadership in Cloud, Big Data, and Cybersecurity, toward our 2016 Ambition to become a Tier 1 company and THE preferred European global IT brand. Bull's highly recognized teams in advanced technologies such as high computing power, data analytics management, and cybersecurity ideally complement Atos' large scale operations. Thanks to our integration capabilities and operational effectiveness culture, this transaction will strongly benefit Bull and Atos clients, employees, and shareholders.”
Philippe Vannier, Chairman and CEO of Bull Group, commented: “Bull Group will strongly benefit from joining Atos, one of the most successful global IT company, in order to accelerate “One Bull” strategic plan implementation. I'm looking forward to being part of this new development within which each member of staff will add their own value. Together with Atos we share the same passion for business technology.”