Atos Buys Syntel in $3.4 Billion U.S. Push for Amex, FedEx (1)

Atos SE agreed to buy Syntel Inc. in a $3.4 billion cash deal to help it get better access to U.S. financial customers such as American Express Co. and State Street Corp.

At $41 a share, the transaction is also a way for acquisitive French computer-services provider Atos to recover from a rebuffed bid eight months ago for Gemalto NV, which secures digital payments for banks and other clients.

“We’ve just acquired a massive booster to our U.S. business and to our digital business,” Atos Finance Chief Elie Girard said in a call with reporters July 23. As a French ...