Orange rebuffs talk of Atos takeover

The French telecoms giant has issued a statement rejecting rumours a bid to takeover fellow French player, Atos, was in the works

Orange has issued a statement flatly denying that it's in talks to acquire French systems integrator powerhouse Atos.

The €5.93bn French telecoms vendor says that such an acquisition is also not an issue the board has any plans to discuss.

"Orange denies that it is working on a project relating to a takeover of Atos and in consequence clarifies that this is not a subject that will be discussed at the next Board of Directors meeting." It said in a statement.

Rumours abounded that Orange was looking to acquire two weeks ago.

In mid-November it was given the green light from the French tax authority that it was set to get a €2.2bn windfall in tax refunds.

Orange had been embroiled in a long-standing dispute with the French State Council (Conseil d'état) over the funds.

The influential French labour union CFE-CGC is then alleged to have supported plans to use the money to invest in an Atos takeover bid.

Local trade union press L'Usine Nouvelle claims CFE-CGC issued a letter to members calling a potential Orange-Atos merger "a profitable marriage for both groups".

However, Orange says that rather than M&A, the Board of Directors will invest the money back into the business "for the benefit of the development of the company, its employees and shareholders".

It singled out its Employee Share Scheme, and a wish to shore up its cash reserves "in the context of the economic and health crisis we are going through."

Atos and Orange's cyber security arm have been in an international mobile communications security partnership since 2016.