One analyst says a DXC Technology-Atos tie-up could generate $30 billion in combined sales. Here, DXC signage is displayed outside the New York Stock Exchange.
Michael Nagle/Bloomberg
Shares of IT services giant DXC Technology leapt on Thursday as the company confirmed it has received an “unsolicited, preliminary and non-binding” takeover offer from France-based Atos.
DXC (ticker: DXC) said that it received the proposal Wednesday night, and that its board will be evaluating the proposal.
Atos (ATO.France) also issued a statement confirming that it has approached DXC about “a potential friendly transaction…in order to create a Digital Services Leader benefiting from global scale, talent and innovation.”
The confirmations followed a Reuters report that Atos has offered to acquire DXC for more than $10 billion including the assumption of debt.
DXC was formed in 2017 via the merger of Computer Sciences Corp. with the old enterprise services segment of Hewlett-Packard Enterprise.
Cowen analyst Brian Bergin wrote in a research note that a DXC/Atos deal “would yield a global infrastructure and application services leader” with about $30 billion of combined sales.
“Atos has been quite acquisitive in recent years and DXC would enhance [its] U.S. presence with a substantial roster of commercial clients and provide broader applications, analytics and engineering services,” he wrote.
DXC shares rallied 11% to $29.40 in midmorning trading Thursday. In Paris, Atos shares were down 11.9%, to €66.30, or about $81.
Write to Eric J. Savitz at [email protected]
