IT services company Atos finalizes plan for IBM-style split

New name

Kretinsky will also take over the Atos brand, which the legacy business unit will have exclusive rights to. The parent company, meanwhile, is adopting the name Eviden, a variant of the Evidian brand previously used for its security products.

EPEI has little experience managing technology companies. The closest thing in its portfolio is a stake in Aareal Group, a bank that has an ERP software subsidiary, Aareaon, which provides digital solutions for the European property industry. Its other investments include minority stakes in national postal services, supermarket chains, consumer electronics stores and a French TV network.

Atos is looking for a clean break between the two halves of its business, and has spent the last year allocating staff to one part or the other.

“There are no synergies today between both divisions,” Nourdine Bihmane, Atos co-CEO in charge of Tech Foundations, said in a conference call to discuss the EPEI deal. “We can create a lot of value through our focus on the most attractive markets.”

Bihmane also announced the appointment of a new group CFO, Paul Saleh, a veteran of Sprint Nextel, CSC and DXC Technology.

Saleh explained how Eviden plans to raise capital to develop its business after the Tech Foundations sale. The company is planning a new share issue to raise €900 million in fresh capital, €218 million of which will come from EPEI, and also hopes to raise another €400 million from the sale of non-core assets. It has already raised €700 million this way over the last year.