Atos buys corporate telephony firm Unify for 340 million euros

PARIS (Reuters) - French IT services firm Atos said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy communications firm Unify for 340 million euros ($373 million) as it looks to expand into corporate telephony.

Atos, which is 12 percent owned by Siemens , said in a statement the acquisition from Gores Group and Siemens was subject to regulatory approvals, but it hoped the deal would be finalised in the first quarter of 2016.

The purchase would give the business an enterprise value of 590 million euros. Atos said it was paying 340 million euros in cash, taking over 200 million euros of pension deficit and 50 million euros of net debt.

Founded in 2008 as Siemens Enterprise Communication, Unify was a joint venture between The Gores Group and Siemens, mainly active in Europe and the Americas. It employs about 5,600 people and generates 1.2 billion euros in revenue.

(Reporting by John Irish; Editing by David Holmes)