Airbus shares rose on the Paris Bourse on Monday, as press reports suggested a possible acquisition of a stake in Evidian, the digital transformation subsidiary of Atos.

At around 4.30pm, the aerospace giant's shares gained 2.4%, while the CAC 40 advanced by 1.6% at the same time. Atos shares jumped by more than 18%.

According to Les Echos, which relies on several sources, Airbus has entered into "exploratory" discussions with a view to acquiring a minority stake in Atos' digital and cybersecurity division.

In a reaction note, analysts at Invest Securities describe the transaction as "friendly" and in line with Atos management's current strategy of bringing in reference shareholders to Evidian.

"In any case, momentum could be positive again for Atos after several very complicated years, including a disastrous 2022 financial year (-76% for the share price)", points out the brokerage firm.

Last September, Atos announced that it had received an unsolicited offer from France's Onepoint, in association with the investment fund ICG, for the potential acquisition of Evidian for 4.2 billion euros.

The technology group decided not to respond, preferring to focus on advancing its demerger project according to the original timetable.

According to Les Echos, Thales - which remains 'potentially interested in any cybersecurity assets that might be available for sale' - would not, at this stage, be part of the planned scheme.

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