From crown jewel to €180m courtroom battle: The investor revolt targeting Atos
A top Whitehall tech supplier that historically managed vast swathes of critical data for the NHS is at the heart of a €180m (£153m) shareholder class action over its near-downfall two years ago.
Euronext-listed Atos was once a crown jewel of the French tech sector, acting as a major partner for the French military and the cybersecurity provider for the Olympic Games. But the tech firm’s share price declined sharply in 2024, dropping from roughly €519 at the start of the year to €26 by the end of December as it creaked under €3.9bn in debt, prompting the group to seek a rescue deal.
The global IT company, which has an office in the City, also provided critical national infrastructure and digital systems for major UK institutions, including the National Grid, NHS, Ministry of Defence, and the BBC. However, as part of its ‘Genesis’ restructuring plan, the IT consulting giant slashed its global headcount by 19 per cent, including in the UK.
The downfall and restructuring of Atos triggered a multi-pronged regulatory and criminal investigation, including France’s national financial crime prosecutor, Parquet National Financier, and its stock market regulator, Autorité des Marchés Financiers.
In a historic first for the French courts, a cross-border alliance of 850 retail and institutional shareholders from the US, UK and France is suing Atos’s auditors, Grant Thornton and Deloitte, after they signed off its accounts before its near plunge into bankruptcy.
Historic French class action
Speaking to City PM, Sophie Vermeille, partner and founder of Vermeille & Co Avocats, which is leading the claim, accused Deloitte and Grant Thornton’s French entities of professional negligence and misconduct regarding the certification of Atos accounts between 2018 and early 2024. The claim targets only the legal entities that have signed the accounts, and not the individuals.
This is the first securities-law shareholder class action of this size in France.
Vermeille explained that “unlike the UK, in France, shareholders can sue statutory auditors. In France, there are many soft laws that make it seem that there is strong corporate governance, so there needs to be accountability for these laws to work.”
Vermeille & Co Avocats, a Paris-based law firm, secured litigation funding to cover the costs of bringing this claim.
When approached for comment, a Grant Thornton spokesperson noted that, as the investigation is ongoing, it will not comment on its client. But added that “Grant Thornton has always conducted its audit engagements in full compliance with applicable professional standards and auditing requirements.”
Deloitte was approached for comment.
Separately, Vermeille & Co Avocats has also sued Atos for access to its internal documents in support of its auditors’ case.
“This was an unusual move; however, we demonstrated to the judge that the scale of the alleged fraud in this case was serious enough that they supported our application for disclosure of Atos’ documents for the last seven fiscal years. It was a massive win for us to have been able to be awarded access to these documents by the court,” she said.
However, Atos has launched an appeal against that ruling, and the hearing on the documents will be held in September.
A spokesperson for Atos said it was unable to comment on ongoing litigation.