Negotiations conducted exclusively with Křetínský's EP Equity Investments on the sale of the French firm's legacy IT services division ended without an agreement, as both sides failed to agree on terms and price.

According to the original agreement announced in August, Křetínský was to acquire the company for EUR 100 million in cash, with Atos transferring EUR 1.9 billion in liabilities to the new entity. However, Atos' new chairman Jean-Pierre Mustier, who previously served as CEO of Italian bank UniCredit, decided to negotiate a higher price after he joined in October. Atos Tech Foundations' IT unit includes a "legacy IT" infrastructure with data centres and business processes outsourcing. It employs more than 49,000 people and had revenues of €4.5 billion in 2022.

Atos has been struggling for some time. It used to be one of the forty companies in the CAC-40 index of the Paris stock exchange, but its shares have fallen by around ninety-three per cent in the last two years. Various setbacks have contributed to this decline, including a poorly received attempt to acquire US rival DXC in 2021 and accounting problems within its US divisions.

Atos will have to repay €3.65 billion of debt by the end of 2025 and is seeking to extend this commitment to 2028 through negotiations with its bank lenders.