Gemalto said it has received an unsolicited takeover bid from Atos worth EUR 46 per share in cash, which it will carefully review and consider. The offer was submitted on 28 November and will be valid until 15 December. Atos put the total bid price at EUR 4.3 billion, saying this represents a premium of 36 percent over Gemalto shares at close on 11 December and 42 percent over the company’s one-month weighted average price. The company noted that the buy would be entirely financed through existing cash resources and fully committed external debt.
Atos said the deal will create a leading group in cybersecurity technologies and digital services, with total revenues amounting to EUR 1.5 billion. The company added that Gemalto’s offerings in identity and access management, data encryption and crypto management will strongly complement Atos capabilities in artificial intelligence, big data, high performance computers, and cloud orchestration. Finally, the combination will reinforce the two groups in Europe as well as in the US, the first market for the two companies and where the new group will be a key player in term of investments and jobs creation.
