Gemalto has rejected the unsolicited and conditional proposal by the French tech consulting giant Atos to buy the cybersecurity vendor for $5.06 billion.
Gemalto’s board says the company is best positioned to grow successfully on a standalone basis and create long term value for its stakeholders, after a review of the proposal with its financial and legal advisors.
Philippe Vallée, Gemalto CEO commented: “In 11 years, we have turned Gemalto into a technology Blue-Chip, recognised in over 180 countries throughout the world, creating 5 000 jobs.
“We have taken the measure of the recent changes in our historical markets, taken the responsible decisions and are now focused on leveraging the many opportunities of our fast-growing markets. We will soon be presenting to our stakeholders our ambitious and substantial development plan for the company that will focus on the next generation of digital security for companies, governments and citizens worldwide.”
Earlier, Reuters has reported that Atos delivered the offer to Gemalto’s board on Nov. 28, and claimed it had the backing of Gemalto’s biggest shareholder, France’s state-owned investment bank Bpifrance.
Bpifrance holds 8.51 percent of Gemalto’s shares, according to the group’s last annual report.
