French IT company Atos spooked investors on Tuesday with a plan to split its operations and sell assets as well as the departure of CEO Rodolphe Belmer, sending its shares plunging by more than 25 per cent.

The departure of Belmer, who took over in January, follows weeks of reports of board divisions over revamping the company.

Belmer and the board clashed over the fate of cybersecurity unit BDS, sources close to the matter have said, as he was willing to sell the business while the board wanted to retain it.

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Atos is deemed strategic by the French government for its high-tech assets such the manufacture of supercomputers and software used by the army and the finance ministry to manage tax collection. Former prime minister Edouard Philippe sits on its board.

Belmer's departure was announced just an hour before a capital market day that investors hoped could restore confidence after a series of setbacks that has wiped out two-thirds of Atos's market value over the past year.

Belmer, the former boss of satellite company Eutelsat, will leave Atos on September 30. Atos shares fell as much as 27 per cent&nbsp;in early Paris trading, and were down almost 20 per cent&nbsp;as of 0742 GMT.

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SPLIT-UP Atos plans to split into two publicly listed entities and said it had appointed two deputy CEOs, Nourdine Bihmane and Philippe Oliva, to lead each of these.

The split would be aimed at "unlocking value" as part of a broader plan that would cost an estimated 1.6 billion euros in 2022-2023, the company said.

Atos will sell assets worth about 700 million euros, Belmer said on Tuesday in a call with reporters.

It has already sold its 2.5 per cent&nbsp;stake in payments company Worldline as part of its disposals plan, raising 220 million euros.

As part of split-up, Atos is considering spinning off and combining BDS with its services operations, notably those aimed at helping customers move to the cloud.

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Dubbed Evidian, these operations combined generated 4.9 billion euros in revenue in 2021, up by 5 per cent&nbsp;from the previous year, and an operating margin of 7.8 per cent.

The remaining part of Atos will include its declining and loss-making IT infrastructure management services, which had sales of 5.4 billion euros last year.

Atos said it aimed to return to growth and profits for these activities by 2026.

Asked if he would benefit from the two-year severance pay approved by shareholders in case of an abrupt departure of the CEO within two years, Belmer said he had proposed to leave with 9 months worth of salary.

Previously the boss of Vivendi-owned pay-TV station Canal+, Belmer had promised a new start for Atos after accounting errors and a failed attempt to acquire a U.S. company hit investor confidence.

The weakness of Atos's shares have made it vulnerable to takeover rumours.

On Monday, the shares fell more than 10 per cent, following a media report about its future strategy.

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French IT company Atos spooked investors on Tuesday with a plan to split its operations and sell assets as well as the departure of CEO Rodolphe Belmer, sending its shares plunging by more than 25 per cent.

French IT company Atos spooked investors on Tuesday with a plan to split its operations and sell assets as well as the departure of CEO Rodolphe Belmer, sending its shares plunging by more than 25 per cent. The departure of Belmer, who took over in January, follows weeks of reports of board divisions over revamping the company. Belmer and the board clashed over the fate of cybersecurity unit BDS, sources close to the matter have said, as he was willing to sell the business while the board wanted to retain it. Also read | Meta to open 'metaverse academy' in collaboration with French digital training firm Atos is deemed strategic by the French government for its high-tech assets such the manufacture of supercomputers and software used by the army and the finance ministry to manage tax collection. Former prime minister Edouard Philippe sits on its board. Belmer's departure was announced just an hour before a capital market day that investors hoped could restore confidence after a series of setbacks that has wiped out two-thirds of Atos's market value over the past year. Belmer, the former boss of satellite company Eutelsat, will leave Atos on September 30. Atos shares fell as much as 27 per cent in early Paris trading, and were down almost 20 per cent as of 0742 GMT. Watch | France's parliamentary elections: Polls suggest neck-to-neck fight SPLIT-UP Atos plans to split into two publicly listed entities and said it had appointed two deputy CEOs, Nourdine Bihmane and Philippe Oliva, to lead each of these. The split would be aimed at "unlocking value" as part of a broader plan that would cost an estimated 1.6 billion euros in 2022-2023, the company said. Atos will sell assets worth about 700 million euros, Belmer said on Tuesday in a call with reporters. It has already sold its 2.5 per cent stake in payments company Worldline as part of its disposals plan, raising 220 million euros. As part of split-up, Atos is considering spinning off and combining BDS with its services operations, notably those aimed at helping customers move to the cloud. Also read | Australia-France reach 555 million euro settlement deal Dubbed Evidian, these operations combined generated 4.9 billion euros in revenue in 2021, up by 5 per cent from the previous year, and an operating margin of 7.8 per cent. The remaining part of Atos will include its declining and loss-making IT infrastructure management services, which had sales of 5.4 billion euros last year. Atos said it aimed to return to growth and profits for these activities by 2026. Asked if he would benefit from the two-year severance pay approved by shareholders in case of an abrupt departure of the CEO within two years, Belmer said he had proposed to leave with 9 months worth of salary. Previously the boss of Vivendi-owned pay-TV station Canal+, Belmer had promised a new start for Atos after accounting errors and a failed attempt to acquire a U.S. company hit investor confidence. The weakness of Atos's shares have made it vulnerable to takeover rumours. On Monday, the shares fell more than 10 per cent, following a media report about its future strategy. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Atos CEO quits as he loses power struggle over strategy

India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and France's IT services company Atos Saturday signed a three-year industrial contract for designing, building and installing the BullSequana, its high-performance supercomputers, in the country. &nbsp; &nbsp;

The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Jean Yves Le Drian, French minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs and Ajay Prakash Sawhney, secretary - Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.&nbsp;

It was signed between Hemant Darbari, Director General of C-DAC, and Pierre Barnab, chief operating officer - Big Data &amp; Security at Atos.

Speaking at the ceremony, Jean said the agreement will deepen our bilateral ties. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;

"India and France have a strategic partnership and we are two nations that innovate a lot. It is true that supercomputers are a necessity and not a luxury. We often say that data for the 21st century is what oil was to the 20th century, we are using data in a massive way and that raises questions of ethics. India and

France share not only interests but also values that require us to use technology for good for humanity," he said.

"India and France have the same vision of what cyberspace should and we would like to deepen our cooperation in areas of cyberspace in R&amp;D or regulation for digital technology," Jean added.

This contract has been awarded to Atos under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), a scheme of Rs 4,500 crores, aimed at creating a network of over 70 high-performance supercomputing facilities for various academic and research institutions across India.&nbsp;

This contract is of special importance as Atos has become India's preferred industrial partner in a highly strategic field, according to a statement by the French Embassy.

The delivery of BullSequana supercomputers is expected to start in early next year, it said.&nbsp;

India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and France's IT services company Atos Saturday signed a three-year industrial contract for designing, building and installing the BullSequana, its high-performance supercomputers, in the country.

India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing and France's IT services company Atos Saturday signed a three-year industrial contract for designing, building and installing the BullSequana, its high-performance supercomputers, in the country. The signing ceremony took place in the presence of Jean Yves Le Drian, French minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs and Ajay Prakash Sawhney, secretary - Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. It was signed between Hemant Darbari, Director General of C-DAC, and Pierre Barnab, chief operating officer - Big Data & Security at Atos. Speaking at the ceremony, Jean said the agreement will deepen our bilateral ties. "India and France have a strategic partnership and we are two nations that innovate a lot. It is true that supercomputers are a necessity and not a luxury. We often say that data for the 21st century is what oil was to the 20th century, we are using data in a massive way and that raises questions of ethics. India and France share not only interests but also values that require us to use technology for good for humanity," he said. "India and France have the same vision of what cyberspace should and we would like to deepen our cooperation in areas of cyberspace in R&D or regulation for digital technology," Jean added. This contract has been awarded to Atos under the National Supercomputing Mission (NSM), a scheme of Rs 4,500 crores, aimed at creating a network of over 70 high-performance supercomputing facilities for various academic and research institutions across India. This contract is of special importance as Atos has become India's preferred industrial partner in a highly strategic field, according to a statement by the French Embassy. The delivery of BullSequana supercomputers is expected to start in early next year, it said.

India's CDAC, France' Atos sign contract on supercomputers

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