UPDATE 2-Ex-Atos chief Bourigeaud says against break-up

(adds comments from small shareholders association APPAC)

By Dominique Vidalon

PARIS, April 8 (Reuters) - Bernard Bourigeaud, the founder and former boss of Atos Origin (ATOS.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) who is seeking a seat on the board of the French IT services company, said on Tuesday he "strongly opposed" the dismantling of the group.

Bourigeaud, who is running as an independent candidate, also said he did not plan to hold the CEO position again nor become head of the group's supervisory board.

Bourigeaud's statement comes after activist funds Centaurus Capital L.P. and Pardus Capital Management L.P. proposed last week bringing back Bourigeaud nearly a year after his exit.

The funds together hold 21.67 percent in Atos and are putting forward Bourigeaud and two other candidates for board seats as they seek to make their demands for a strategic review of the group heard.

The three independent candidates -- which include Colette Neuveille, the influential boss of small shareholders association ADAM -- are proposed alongside the funds' own two candidates for a vote at a shareholders meeting on May 22.

In a new twist to the saga, another small shareholders' association APPAC said on Tuesday it would back Atos's current management at the upcoming shareholders meeting and would present its own candidate to the board, saying the strategy supported by the two funds would lead to dismantling the group.

Bourigeaud said in his statement he was running for a board seat "in order to help the company move forward".