Atos shares jumped on the Paris Bourse on Thursday after the French digital transformation company Onepoint took a stake of almost 10% in the capital of the group undergoing restructuring.

At 10:27 am GMT, Atos shares were up 13.3%, topping the SBF 120 index, which was up 1.69% at the same time.

Onepoint announced on Wednesday evening that it had taken a stake in Atos, a decision that comes "within the framework of the company's ongoing reorganization project and its new governance, and reinforces the strategic dimension of Atos' activities", the company explained in a press release.

According to a notice published Thursday by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF), Onepoint holds a 9.98% stake in Atos.

For its part, Atos on Wednesday welcomed the arrival of Onepoint as a "new reference investor" and said it was looking forward to a "constructive dialogue" with the company, as with all the group's other shareholders.

Last year, Atos

rejected

an offer from Onepoint, in association with the Anglo-Saxon investment fund ICG, for its digital and cybersecurity business for an enterprise value of 4.2 billion euros.

Since then, Atos has agreed to sell its historic Tech Foundations business to businessman Daniel Kretinsky, in a controversial transaction.

controversial

which would also see the Czech billionaire take a 7.5% stake in the division that Atos would retain, renamed Eviden.

According to a source familiar with the deal, this acquisition makes Onepoint Atos' largest shareholder, and represents an industrial, strategic and friendly investment aimed at preserving the company's strategic assets.

However, two other sources close to Atos said the investment seemed opportunistic, as Atos shares are currently worth half their high this year, at 15.76 euros.

The IT group has recently undergone a number of governance changes, the most recent being

the arrival

Jean-Pierre Mustier, a former banker, to head its Board of Directors. (Reported by Piotr Lipinski in Gdansk, Silvia Aloisi and Mathieu Rosemain in Paris, written by Zhifan Liu and Kate Entringer, edited by Blandine Hénault)