Atento Announces Institutional Investors to Acquire Bain Capital’s Equity in the Company

By AIT News Desk On May 8, 2020

HPS Investment Partners, GIC and Farallon to Invest Independently in Atento

Atento S.A., the leading provider of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing services (CRM / BPO) in Latin America and one of the top five providers worldwide, announced arrangements to facilitate HPS Investment Partners, LLC, GIC , and an investment fund affiliated with Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. (“Farallon”)’s acquisition of shares of the Company currently held indirectly by Bain Capital in exchange for notes currently held by these Institutional Investors (the “Transaction”).

Carlos López-Abadía, Atento’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “At Atento, we are leading the next generation of customer experience services by combining the power of technology and the human touch. Each of the new investors in Atento shares our vision to establish a stronger platform from which to accelerate the development and expansion of innovative digital solutions that will significantly enhance Atento’s growing portfolio of high-value voice, integrated multichannel and back office services. Our mission over the long term continues to be increasing shareholder value by effectively capitalizing on the emerging digital opportunities in CRM-BPO. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Bain Capital for all of their support and hard work over the years.”

Thomas Iannotti, Atento Lead Director added: “We are delighted to have these leading global investment firms as Atento shareholders and HPS, GIC and Farallon as board members and look forward to benefitting from their strategic thinking and leadership. Their investment demonstrates a commitment to supporting our ambitious transformation plan and their confidence in Atento’s considerable long-term potential.”

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“We have long admired Atento as the leading CRM/BPO provider in Latin America,” said Daniel Goldberg, Managing Partner of Farallon Latin America Investimentos Ltda. “Farallon is pleased to support the Company as it builds an exciting array of next-generation services and capabilities.”

At the end of 2019, Atento’s senior management team presented its Three Horizon Plan, a three-year strategic plan to place Atento at the forefront of transforming the customer experience in the Americas. The plan consists of three main pillars:

Implement Operational Improvements: develop a range of initiatives to accelerate the transformation of Atento’s core operations, from driving sales and operational excellence to optimizing indirect costs.
Accelerate the Build-out of a Next Generation Services Portfolio and Enhanced Digital Capabilities: create a set of strategic initiatives to accelerate the development and expansion of Atento’s value offering, with a focus on three next generation service lines (High-value voice, Integrated multichannel and Automated back office) and four next generation capabilities (AI/Cognitive, Analytics, Automation/RPA and CX consulting), combined with the implementation of new methodologies for product development and go-to-market processes.
Pursue New Growth Avenues: build upon stronger foundations to unlock and drive new growth by accelerating the Company’s penetration into higher-growth and higher-margin verticals and by expanding in the US market. As part of Atento’s strategic plan, and to help drive the plan’s execution and remain among the world’s best places to work, Atento is advancing the digital transformation of its human resources operations, including the reskilling of some traditional call center agents as programmers.

To ensure the advancement of the Three Horizon Plan, Atento implemented a series of measures to mitigate the risk posed by the COVID-19 epidemic, including the implementation of strict health and safety procedures in accordance with WHO guidelines and those of local health authorities. In addition, to strengthen Atento’s cash position and balance sheet, the Company has been rationalizing capex and other expenses. With $160 million in total liquidity, Atento currently has the necessary financial resources to continue delivering customer services and solutions as well as effectively maintain health and safety procedures, including having over 60 thousand employees working at home.