Orange has issued a short statement reacting to comments made by the CFE-CGC trade union about the possible acquisition of France-based ICT company Atos by the telecom group. CFE-CGC and employee shareholders, with a 5.5 percent holding in Orange's share capital, would back the integration of Atos to create a strong leader in cloud and cyber security. In response, Orange has denied working on the acquisition, adding that it had no plans to discuss the project at the next meeting of its board of directors.
According to Capital, the trade union has also suggested that Elie Girard, current CEO of Atos and former Orange executive, could be placed at the helm once Stephane Richard's term of office expires in 2022, should an acquisition take place. The proposals emerged as Orange is set to recover EUR 2.2 billion in tax, after a favourable court ruling announced earlier this month.
