French IT service group Atos has made an unsolicited offer to acquire Gemalto for EUR4.3 with the aim of creating a European powerhouse in cybersecurity and payments services.
The all-cash offer of €46.0 per Gemalto share is at a 42% premium to Gemalto’s closing price as of 8 December, 2017, before market rumours began to swirl.
Thierry Breton, chairman and CEO of Atos says: "We believe that a combination of Atos and Gemalto would result in enhanced global leadership in cybersecurity, digital technologies and services and in the strengthening of our positioning as a leading European payment services provider.”
Atos claims to have secured the backing of the French state, which holds an 8.3 per cent stake in Gemalto, for the deal.
If pushed through, the merger would create a leading end-to-end European payment services provider; fully EUR1 billion of Gemalto's revenues stem from its bank card and payments business.
Gemalto, which has issued three profit warnings in the past six months, is considering the offer.