Initially announced back in May, Atos’ €620 Million takeover of Bull has been approved just 1 week before the settlement date. The move comes in the wake of multiple acquisitions by Atos, including Cambridge Technology Partners, which was announced back in June.
The move will allow Atos to strengthen its cloud offerings, included security & big data. Bull notably is a vendor of supercomputers (seen above), which will be precious knowledge for Atos as they look to define themselves as a leader in Europe. The combined team will include of 2,000 domain experts in cyber security & big data alone – Bull alone will be bringing its 9,200 employees to Atos, where the next month’s will largely be focused on integration (and, inevitably, slimming down redundant staff).
The move is particularly interesting, as it shows that French IT firms are embracing the need to be global leaders – or at least, European leaders – in order to maintain their position in the market, as well as to appeal to increasing pan-European demand for services. Atos & Bull were previously leaders in their respective fields in France, and major players in Europe – this new combined entity will enforce Atos’ position in France (where Bull is strongest) as well as other Francophone markets, and should allow for Atos to focus on international expansion.