France

Bordeaux have filed for bankruptcy just days after they were relegated to the third tier of French football after Liverpool soccer club’s owner withdrew from takeover talks, the former Ligue 1 club said on Thursday, Reuters reported. Earlier this month the six-times French champions were demoted from Ligue 2 by the National Directorate of Management Control due to financial concerns. Once Liverpool’s owner, Fenway Sports Group, pulled out from takeover talks, it effectively ended the club's survival hopes.

Embattled French IT company Atos SE has appointed its sixth chief executive officer in less than three years, as the group moves ahead with its creditors’ restructuring plan, Bloomberg News reported. Atos Chairman Jean-Pierre Mustier will take over as CEO from Paul Saleh to steer the company through the final stages of the bailout agreement, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. He will remain chairman of Atos’ board.

Atos agreed to 1.675 billion euros ($1.83 billion) of financing as part of its restructuring plan, backed by a group of banks and bondholders, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The French IT firm said on Monday that interim financing of EUR800 million is secured, providing the liquidity necessary to fund the business until close of the financial restructuring plan, and that EUR450 million is already accessible by the company.

France’s state auditor said existing plans to repair “worrying” public finances lack credibility, sounding the alarm on the budget as political groups with expansive tax-and-spend policies jockey to form a new government after snap elections, Bloomberg News reported. President Emmanuel Macron’s outgoing administration pledged new spending cuts and revenue-boosting measures in April to get back on course with derailed plans to bring the budget deficit within 3% of economic output in 2027.

Astorg, a private equity firm that manages €22 billion ($24 billion) in assets, is working with Evercore Inc. to explore various financing options as the company prepares for a generational change among its leadership, Bloomberg News reported. The Paris-based firm is assessing funding options, including scenarios that combine debt and equity, it said in an emailed statement Friday. Astorg said an outright sale isn’t being considered.

The cost of hedging the franc overnight jumped early Wednesday by the most since the Swiss National Bank unexpectedly removed a floor for the currency in 2015, Bloomberg News reported. The sharp move came ahead of the SNB’s next decision on Thursday, given market uncertainty over whether policy makers could opt to cut interest rates and signal support for the currency through intervention. That made hedging the Swiss franc the day before a SNB meeting the most expensive since 2022.

The French government has offered to buy some of Atos SE’s operations in its big data and security unit for an enterprise value of €700 million ($751 million) as part of discussions to restructure the embattled IT company, Bloomberg News reported. The non-binding bid, part of talks previously disclosed in April, is for the company’s supercomputers, “mission-critical” systems and cybersecurity activities in the Atos unit known as BDS, the company said in a statement on Friday. No final deal has been reached and discussions are continuing.

Atos shares lost more of their value in early trading, adding to losses already reported this week as the French IT firm works on implementing its financial rescue, the Wall Street Journal reported. At 0743 GMT shares traded 5% lower at EUR0.73. The shares have lost around 37% of their value this week alone and are now down around 95% from a year ago.

Atos SE chose a bailout proposal from a group led by David Layani’s Onepoint, its top shareholder, beating out a rival bid from Czech billionaire Daniel Kretinsky for the troubled French IT company, Bloomberg News reported. Onepoint’s rescue plan for the troubled French IT company, which includes new equity and reduced debt, has the support of the board and the company will now seek to reach a final agreement with its creditors by July, Atos said in a statement on Tuesday.