Atos dans la tourmente boursière avant son plan stratégique
DÉCRYPTAGE - Le groupe pourrait loger ses activités historiques en perte de vitesse au sein d’une entité juridique à part.
Si l’objectif du nouveau plan stratégique que la direction d’Atos présente ce mardi est de retrouver la confiance des investisseurs, cela semble mal parti. L’action du groupe technologique français a chuté de plus de 10 % à la Bourse de Paris sur la seule séance de lundi, ce qui porte à 28 % la baisse de sa valeur sur les cinq derniers jours.
Dans un contexte de marché globalement tendu pour les valeurs technologiques, Atos a subi le contrecoup d’une information de BFM sur la stratégie qu’il détaillera aujourd’hui. Après d’âpres discussions entre le directeur général, Rodolphe Belmer et Bertrand Meunier, le président du conseil d’administration, notoirement en conflit, le groupe serait parvenu à un compromis: loger les activités historiques d’infrastructures et d’infogérance informatiques au sein d’une entité juridique distincte et autonome, Tech Foundation, tout en restant intégrée au sein d’Atos.
Risque d’affaiblissement
À l’ère de la migration des entreprises vers les clouds publics, ces activités sont en déclin et dégagent peu de marges. Or, elles représentent encore près de la moitié du chiffre d’affaires du groupe français, grevant ses performances globales. Séparer d’un point de vue juridique et bilanciel ces activités permettrait de mieux valoriser les performances des deux autres pôles - en croissance - du groupe: la transformation digitale (35 % du chiffre d’affaires) et surtout la division Big Data & Security (BDS), qui regroupe le calcul de haute performance et la cybersécurité. Véritables joyaux du groupe, ces deux dernières nécessitent d’importants moyens pour grandir, tant en recherche et développement, en marketing qu’en acquisitions.
Atos: tensions au sommet sur l’avenir stratégique de la pépite technologique : https://www.lefigaro.fr/secteur/high-tech/tensions-au-sommet-sur-l-avenir-strategique-d-atos-20220610
Or, selon certaines sources proches du dossier, et c’est ce qui sème le trouble chez des analystes financiers, Tech Foundation accueillerait aussi «certains éléments» des deux autres activités, pour lui donner une certaine attractivité. Car Atos, qui n’a jusqu’ici pas réussi à trouver des repreneurs intéressés, n’aurait pas abandonné l’idée de céder cette partie qui le handicape quand il le pourra. Pour la rendre encore plus attrayante, certaines charges pourraient être allégées par le jeu d’une nouvelle répartition entre les trois pôles actuels.
Rodolphe Belmer va devoir convaincre les investisseurs des avantages à court et moyen terme de ces choix stratégiques, qui permettent de conserver «l’intégrité et l’indépendance» d’Atos, selon les souhaits du conseil d’administration, mais au prix d’un affaiblissement des pôles Digital et BDS. Atos s’est refusé lundi à tout commentaire. Cette incertitude, entretenue par de multiples spéculations ces dernières semaines autour l’avenir du groupe, déplaît fortement aux investisseurs.
Bertrand Meunier: «Atos va accélérer sa mutation numérique» : https://www.lefigaro.fr/secteur/high-tech/bertrand-meunier-atos-va-accelerer-sa-mutation-numerique-20211020
«Une fois que vous dites que “je veux vendre, c’est non stratégique”, il faut que cela se concrétise rapidement, sinon vous finissez par penser qu’il n’y a pas d’acheteur», soulignait lundi un analyste financier. De son côté, la Société générale s’interrogeait dans une note aux clients sur les divergences de vues au sommet. «Cela pourrait réduire la crédibilité du DG et remettre en cause son autorité en interne, le forçant à faire des choses auxquelles il ne croit pas, ce qui n’est jamais une bonne chose, à notre avis.»
Berlin working on multibillion euro rescue for Gazprom Germania
State-owned development bank KfW to provide subsidiary of Russian gas giant with a €5bn-10bn loan
Berlin is putting together a multibillion euro rescue package for Gazprom Germania, the subsidiary of the Russian gas giant that was taken over by the German authorities last month, according to people familiar with the matter.
As part of the bailout, Germany’s state-owned development bank KfW would provide Gazprom Germania a €5bn-10bn loan, the people said, while emphasising that talks were ongoing.
Using taxpayers’ money to bail out a company that is still officially owned by Gazprom, the Kremlin-controlled energy company, could prove controversial in Germany.
But the unit plays an important role in Germany’s energy supply, and as such officials consider it is in the national interest to restore it to financial health.
The German government seized control of Gazprom Germania and its subsidiaries in early April, placing them under the trusteeship of the Bundesnetzagentur, the federal energy regulator.
The move was triggered by a change in the entity’s ownership structure that violated Germany’s strict law on foreign investment in critical infrastructure.
Gazprom Germania owns a number of gas storage facilities in Germany, including the country’s largest, Rehden; the gas distribution company, Wingas, which supplies major industrial consumers in Germany; and a UK trading division GM&T.
Russia struck back against the seizure of control of Gazprom Germania in May by reducing the volumes of gas it supplies to the company, forcing it to buy gas in the spot market instead, often at higher prices.
That, officials say, risked destabilising its finances, which would in turn harm its ability to meet its supply obligations to customers in Germany. These include some of the country’s biggest industrial companies, as well as municipally-owned utilities.
A spokesman for the Bundesnetzagentur said all state agencies were “working intensively to ensure that [Gazprom Germania] can continue to operate”. Asked about the loan, he said the BNA would not comment on speculation. The German government declined to comment, as did the KfW.
This month Gazprom Germania appointed Egbert Laege, a former Boston Consulting Group executive, as chief executive. In an email announcing the move Laege thanked his predecessor Igor Fedorov “for his services to the GPG Group” and wished him “all the best for the future”.
The decision to bail out Gazprom Germania is expected to enable GM&T to restart deals. GM&T is a major trader of gas, liquefied natural gas and power, buying from sources including Norway and the North Sea and selling worldwide.
It also buys the gas for Gazprom Energy, which supplies about a fifth of all non-household gas in the UK to roughly 30,000 commercial customers, including shops, pubs, NHS trusts and local authorities, along with two-thirds of the UK’s heavy energy users — crucial industries that produce goods from glass and ceramics to fertilisers, paper and steel.
Before the German takeover, the UK government had been on standby to take over GM&T and Gazprom Energy amid fears that one or both could collapse.
Gazprom Energy had also been considering a rebrand as it sought to distance itself from its Russian owners after the invasion of Ukraine. It is not expecting to revert to Russian ownership, two people close to the company have said.
GM&T and Gazprom Energy had not replied to requests for comment at the time of publication.
Binance halts bitcoin withdrawals after Celsius blocks all redemptions
Bitcoin tumbles to lowest level since late 2020 as strains on crypto market intensify
Binance on Monday halted withdrawals of bitcoin hours after crypto lender Celsius blocked customers from pulling funds from its platform in moves that fuelled a broad sell-off across the digital asset market.
Bitcoin, ether and other major tokens dropped sharply on Monday following a turbulent weekend as the market infrastructure that underpins the digital asset market showed worsening signs of strain.
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange, suspended customer withdrawals of bitcoin on Monday afternoon. The pause came after Celsius, another major player in crypto that lets users lend out their tokens for high returns, halted redemptions due to “extreme market conditions”.
The crypto market has been shaken in recent weeks amid a broader flight from speculative assets prompted by an abrupt tightening of monetary policy by global central banks in response to intense inflation.
Bitcoin, the world’s most actively traded cryptocurrency, has dropped almost 20 per cent since Friday to below $24,000, its lowest level since December 2020, according to CryptoCompare data. Meanwhile, the market value of the broader crypto market has fallen from a peak of $3.2tn in November to around $1tn on Monday.
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange by volume, said it had temporarily suspended withdrawals of bitcoin from its platform due to a “stuck transaction”. The company, which processed $1.2tn in crypto spot and derivatives trades last month, could not immediately provide further details on the matter.
Celsius is one of the biggest players in the market for digital yield products, providing users with the ability to lend out their tokens as collateral for other crypto projects. In return for lending their tokens, traders were able to earn annual yields of as much as 17 per cent.
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Sentiment towards these high-risk projects cooled sharply after the terra and luna tokens — which were the foundation of another popular yield platform — collapsed in a matter of days. The value of assets deposited on Celsius’s platform shrivelled to less than $12bn as of May 17 from more than $24bn in late December.
Ether, which is considered a proxy for sentiment for digital asset projects that offer investors high yields, has dropped almost 30 per cent since Friday, leaving it down two-thirds in dollar terms this year to trade at $1,195.
Selling on Monday also ricocheted into the shares of crypto-focused companies. MicroStrategy, a tech company that invests heavily in bitcoin, lost a quarter of its value in early trade on Wall Street while Nasdaq-listed crypto exchange Coinbase fell 16 per cent.
Celsius last year raised $400mn in an equity funding round led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada’s second-largest pension fund, and WestCap, the fund set up by former Airbnb and Blackstone executive Laurence Tosi.
That fundraising came even as US regulators indicated they were scrutinising the industry. State authorities in Texas and New Jersey have alleged that Celsius’s yield-bearing accounts amount to an unregistered securities offering.
Celsius’s halt to withdrawals early on Monday was also a U-turn after it had spent several days rebutting accusations that customers could not make withdrawals. Chief executive Alex Mashinsky challenged critics at the weekend to find “even one person who has a problem withdrawing”.
Celsius, which has offices in the US, UK and Lithuania, said the redemption freeze was done for the “benefit of our entire community in order to stabilise liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets”.
The group’s own coin, known by the ticker CEL, has lost half its value in the past 24 hours, according to CryptoCompare data.
Prologis to Buy Duke Realty in $26 Billion Deal, Including Debt
Agreement follows increased offer in which Duke Realty shareholders will receive 0.475 times a Prologis share
Prologis Inc. PLD -4.04%▼ is buying Duke Realty Corp. DRE -3.86%▼ in a deal valued at $26 billion, including the assumption of debt, the companies said Monday.
The respective boards of directors for Prologis and Duke Realty have unanimously approved the transaction.
Under the terms of the agreement, Duke Realty shareholders would receive 0.475 times a Prologis share for each Duke Realty share they own, an improvement from Prologis’s previous exchange offer of 0.466 times.
In May, Duke Realty rejected a nearly $24 billion buyout offer from Prologis, calling the unsolicited offer insufficient. Prologis had offered to buy Duke Realty for $61.68 a share.
Under the current deal, Prologis is gaining high-quality properties for its portfolio in key areas, including southern California, New Jersey, South Florida, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.
Prologis plans to hold 94% of the Duke Realty assets and exit one market.
Prologis said the transaction is expected to have immediate accretion of $310 million to 370 million from corporate general and administrative cost savings and operating leverage as well as mark-to-market adjustments on leases and debt. In the first year, the transaction is expected to increase annual core funds from operations by 20 cents to 25 cents.
The transaction is currently expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Bitcoin tumbles as crypto lender Celsius halts withdrawals
World’s leading digital token sinks to lowest level since 2020 as market comes under mounting pressure
Bitcoin and other leading cryptocurrencies tumbled on Monday after $12bn lender Celsius Network halted customer withdrawals, in the latest sign of intensifying strains across the digital assets industry.
The fall followed a suspension of withdrawals and transfers between accounts on Celsius, one of the world’s biggest crypto lending platforms, which blamed “extreme market conditions”.
The move dealt a heavy blow to the broader digital asset market. Bitcoin, the world’s most actively traded cryptocurrency, has dropped almost 20 per cent since Friday to below $24,000, its lowest level since December 2020, according to CryptoCompare data.
Selling had started at the weekend as concerns swirled among some traders that market tumult could imperil Celsius’s ability to meet redemption requests.
The platform is one of the biggest players in the market for digital yield products, providing users with the ability to lend out their tokens as collateral for other crypto projects. In return for lending their tokens, traders were able to earn annual yields of as much as 17 per cent.
Sentiment towards these high-risk projects cooled sharply after the terra and luna tokens — which were the foundation of another popular yield platform — collapsed in a matter of days. The value of assets deposited on Celsius’s platform shrivelled to less than $12bn as of May 17 from more than $24bn in late December.
Ether, which is considered a proxy for sentiment for digital asset projects that offer investors high yields, has dropped almost 30 per cent since Friday, leaving it down two-thirds in dollar terms this year to trade at $1,195.
Selling on Monday also ricocheted into the shares of crypto-focused companies. MicroStrategy, a tech company that invests heavily in bitcoin, tumbled 25 per cent in pre-market trading on Wall Street. US-listed crypto exchange Coinbase fell 17 per cent.
Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange by volume, added to the sense of gloom across crypto markets after it announced on Monday afternoon that it had temporarily suspended withdrawals of bitcoin from its platform due to a “stuck transaction”. The company could not immediately provide further details on the matter.
Celsius last year raised $400mn in an equity funding round led by Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, Canada’s second-largest pension fund, and WestCap, the fund set up by former Airbnb and Blackstone executive Laurence Tosi.
That fundraising came even as US regulators indicated they were scrutinising the industry. State authorities in Texas and New Jersey have alleged that Celsius’s yield-bearing accounts amount to an unregistered securities offering.
Celsius’s halt to withdrawals early on Monday was also a U-turn after it had spent several days rebutting accusations that customers could not make withdrawals. Chief executive Alex Mashinsky challenged critics at the weekend to find “even one person who has a problem withdrawing”.
Celsius, which has offices in the US, UK and Lithuania, said the redemption freeze was done for the “benefit of our entire community in order to stabilise liquidity and operations while we take steps to preserve and protect assets”.
The group’s own coin, known by the ticker CEL, has lost half its value in the past 24 hours, according to CryptoCompare data.