PARIS (Reuters) – Atos shares plunged on Monday by up to 12%, with a trader pointing to reports by newspapers Le Parisien and Les Echos on calls made by some lawmakers in France’s National Assembly to nationalise the ailing tech company.
According to the reports, two lawmakers – Olivier Marleix from the conservative Les Republicans and Socialist Philippe Brun – both have lodged amendments to France’s 2024 budget law for a partial state takeover of Atos, citing national security concerns.
The move had a negative impact on the share’s trading value on Monday, one trader told Reuters. Over the last two years, Atos shares had lost almost 80% of their value.
(Reporting by Danilo Masoni, Michal Aleksandrowicz, writing by Tassilo Hummel)