Airbus has called off talks to buy the BDS cybersecurity unit of France’s Atos, sending shares in the software company tumbling by more than a fifth.
The two companies announced the collapse of talks for Airbus to buy BDS, including its key big data activities, in brief statements. Airbus did not provide details on pulling out of the BDS deal but a person familiar with the matter said Airbus had concerns over risk and broader turmoil surrounding Atos.
Atos, formed partly by acquisitions made under former CEO Thierry Breton, EU industry chief and a former French finance minister, has deep links to France’s security world in which the state has the ultimate say over tie-ups. Some industry sources said the spotlight would now fall on French defence electronics group Thales as a potential suitor. The company played down such a deal, with CEO Patrice Caine saying earlier this month Thales’s position had “not changed for months and months.”