FILE PHOTO: Czech businessman Daniel Kretinsky speaks at a conference in Prague, Czech Republic, October 17, 2023. REUTERS/David W Cerny/File Photo
PARIS (Reuters) - Distressed IT consulting firm Atos has given itself until Wednesday to choose between two revised restructuring proposals that would dilute its current shareholders to almost nothing and massively cut its debt burden.
The two rival offers - one led by Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky, the other by Atos' anchor investor David Layani - are "generally consistent" with the conditions set by Atos, the French company said in a statement on Monday.
These include a reduction of Atos' 4.8 billion euro ($5.21 billion) in debt and new financing, it said, adding that details of the two revised offers would be published on its website.
The new June 5 deadline effectively prolongs the battle Kretinsky and Layani, as the two had already presented widely different tactics to strengthen in their initial offers to shore up the company's finances.
The fierce competition between the two businessmen has led to scathing comments in the French press from both camps against each other, prompting calls of restraint Atos' chairman, Jean-Pierre Mustier.
Layani's revised offer, supported by investment company Butler Industries and smaller IT consulting firm Econocom, also received the backing of some creditors, Atos said.
Atos didn't specify the proportion of the debt held by this group of creditors. Support from creditors in such a process is essential, as Atos' debt restructuring will eventually need the backing from creditors owning at least two-thirds of its debt.
Kretinsky's revised offer, formulated by his EPEI group, is backed by British investment fund Attestor.
Atos also said it was reviewing offers for its Worldgrid business unit, providing IT solutions to power generation.
France's finance minister last month said he would make sure the unit, which also works for France's nuclear energy giant EDF, would stay 'under French control'.
($1 = 0.9214 euros)
(Reporting by Tassilo Hummel; Editing by Benoit Van Overstraeten and Lincoln Feast.)
