No deal: DXC Technology rejects Atos bid

The board of DXC Technology has flatly rejected Atos’ unsolicited bid to acquire the global services operator after carefully evaluating the proposal together with its financial and legal advisor.

In a statement, DXC said its board determined the bid was “inadequate and lacking certainty in light of the value the board believes DXC can create on a standalone basis by executing our transformation journey.

“After sharing certain high-level information in order to help Atos understand why the board believes the proposal undervalued DXC, Atos and DXC agreed to discontinue further discussions,” it said.

In January, France-headquartered Atos made a surprise and unexpected bid to acquire DXC Technology, which is publicly listed on the New York Stock Exchange, in a reported US$10 billion deal, a move which has been labelled as “unsolicited” from the industry rival.

Following heightened media speculation that the French-based business was preparing an out-of-the-blue approach, the technology giant confirmed the potential “friendly transaction” via an official media statement. 

The move was shaped by a desire to create a “Digital Services Leader benefitting from global scale, talent and innovation”, and would have been Atos’ largest acquisition if finalised.

In the meantime, DXC revealed it had ‘no knowledge of any interest from Atos prior to receiving an acquisition proposal in January. DXC reinstated its confidence in its transformation journey highlighting within its third quarter, it has exceeded its guidance on revenues and adjusted earnings before tax margin, with more to be revealed on February 4.