Airbus Ends Talks For Unit of Struggling French IT Firm Atos

Airbus SE has walked away from talks to buy the big data and cybersecurity business from Atos SE, leaving the embattled French IT company with fewer options for reducing debt.

Atos said it will evaluate its options taking into account “the sovereign imperatives of the French state,” the company said in a statement on Tuesday. Atos said it will reschedule its earnings release, which was planned for Wednesday.

The Airbus SE factory in Toulouse, France.

Photographer: Matthieu Rondel/Bloomberg

Airbus said separately that it dropped the pursuit following “careful consideration.”

Atos had said in January that it was in early talks with the French plane maker to sell its ...