OREANDA-NEWS. On the 22nd of February, 2014 Atos, a leading European IT services provider and Worldwide IT Partner for the Olympic Games, Gazprom Neft, one of Russia's leading oil producers, and SIBUR, Russia's leading petrochemical Group, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for a long term strategic partnership in IT services. As part of the strategic partnership Atos will invest in the development of ITSK, an IT services joint venture of Gazprom Neft and SIBUR.

The Memorandum was signed today at the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi by Charles Dehelly, Chief Operating Officer of Atos, “ Vitaly Baranov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom Neft and Chairman of the Board of ITSK, and Dmitry Konov, Chief Executive Officer of SIBUR.

According to the Memorandum Atos is considering acquiring shares in ITSK through taking over part of SIBUR's stake in the company. ITSK will benefit from receiving the latest services and technology from Atos, which is Europe's largest IT services provider, and this will improve the quality of its customer services locally and internationally.

The proposal outlined in the memorandum will be subject to approval from the Boards of Directors of each party as well as from regulatory organizations.

Charles Dehelly, Chief Operating Officer of Atos, said: “This new partnership will enable Atos to strengthen its growing position as a provider to international clients in Russia, it will enhance our Russian client base and strengthen our support offering both in Russia and on the international market. We are proud to be partnering with two of the largest, most internationally successful and well known Russian companies.”

Vitaly Baranov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Gazprom Neft and Chairman of the Board of ITSK, said: “By establishing ITSK, Gazprom Neft and SIBUR sought to enhance the efficiency of their IT divisions growing the company into a notable industry player after just a few years. A strategic investor like Atos, with a long and successful track record in the highly competitive international market for IT services and solutions, can help ITSK move to a new level. I am convinced that the company will continue building effective relationships with its customers, including Gazprom Neft, and offer the best IT solutions for their businesses.”

Dmitry Konov, CEO of SIBUR, said: “We are delighted to welcome a specialist investor with an international reputation for IT services to ITSK. Atos demonstrates world standard capabilities in technology which will significantly improve ITSK's competitive position on the market.”