Atos puts the squeeze on Bull's minority shareholders

IT services giant to launch buyout offer and squeeze-out for shares it does not already own in Bull

Atos is preparing to initiate a squeeze-out on Bull's remaining shares so that it can press on with the full integration of the systems integrator.

Gallic IT services giant Atos announced it was buying its compatriot Bull for €620m (£487m) in late May in a move it claimed will create Europe's top cloud services player. Atos chief executive Thierry Breton was made chairman of Bull in August after the takeover was completed.

Atos announced yesterday that it now owns shares representing more than 95 per cent of Bull's share capital and voting rights. It also now holds 20.25 per cent of Bull's OCEANEs (which are bonds convertible and/or exchangeable into new or existing shares).

Atos' original friendly tender offer on Bull's shares was at €4.90 per share and €5.55 per OCEANEs and it has since been acquiring shares at the same price.

Bull stated: "In order to quickly proceed with the full integration of Bull, Atos has decided to initiate a buyout offer followed by a squeeze-out on Bull's remaining shares and OCEANEs, at the same price, ie at €4.90 per share and at €5.55 per OCEANEs."

Atos said the offer document jointly prepared by Atos and Bull will be filed with the French authorities in the coming weeks.

It added that 9,000-strong Bull will bolster its capabilities in cloud, big data and security, in the process adding €1.3m revenues to its bottom line.