PARIS: European aero and defence conglomerate Airbus is interested in taking over the cybersecurity business of French software company Atos , France’s BFM TV said on Thursday, citing sources with knowledge of the matter.

Airbus did not immediately reply to a Reuters request for comment.

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BFM, in its report, cited one source as saying Airbus had been looking into a potential acquisition of Atos over the last few weeks, driven by its interest in the field of cybersecurity, but added that at this stage, no outright takeover was on the cards.

“(Airbus CEO) Guillaume Faury believes that this topic (Atos) is too complicated given Airbus’s interests,” BFM cited one source as saying.

The report added that the group therefore opted against buying Atos as a whole as it had no interest in acquiring the French firm’s other activities.