- HPS Investment Partners, GIC Private Limited and Farallon each agree to extend their shareholder lock-up by 12-months, with the same period applied to Kyma Capital, Charles Frischer and Asheef Lalani.
- This announcement demonstrates that the key shareholders, which on a combined basis own more than 70%, remain committed with Atento and its growth trajectory.
NEW YORK, Sept 7, 2022 – Atento S.A. (NYSE: ATTO, “Atento” or the “Company”), one of the largest providers worldwide and the leading company in customer relationship services and business process outsourcing (CRM / BPO) in Latin America, has announced that it has extended its director nomination lock-up agreements by another 12-months (i.e., until June 22, 2023) with HPS Investment Partners, LLC (“HPS”), who holds approximately 25% of shares in the Company, GIC Private Limited (“GIC”), who holds approximately 22% of shares, and an investment fund affiliated with Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. (“Farallon”), holding approximately 15% of the shares. The Company has also signed a similar lock-up agreement with Kyma Capital, Charles Frischer and Asheef Lalani for the same period, who together hold approximately 9% of the shares.
“This agreement with the largest shareholders shows the great confidence we have in Atento and the company’s strategy” explains Kyma Capital’s Chief Investment Officer Akshay Shah. Together with the impact from the cyber-attack last year, we believe the expired lock-up agreement has contributed to the depressed stock valuation. We aim for this extension announced today to address these concerns. Our recent buying of Atento shares in August reflects our expectation that the company will continue to improve financial performance over the second half of 2022, in line with management guidance.
Highlighting on this recent announcement, Carlos López-Abadía, Atento’s Chief Executive Officer commented, “Today each of these investors reaffirms its on-going commitment as they uphold the company’s vision to take customer experience services to the next level, while leading the next generation of products and offerings in the BPO market. We remain confident that Atento will continue to drive sales and boost existing services through enhanced digital capabilities, as we pursue new growth avenues. At the same time, we are grateful for the strategic thinking and leadership granted by all our shareholders which supports our confidence in Atento’s long-term potential”.
These agreements with our top shareholders, the recently announced company reorganization into three regions and new board member appointments, strengthen Atento’s position in the industry, support its growth strategy in key markets, and nurtures Atento’s management. As a leader in its industry, Atento will continue to push for innovation and improvements in its business, to guarantee its customers and shareholders added value.
About Atento
Atento is one of the largest providers worldwide and the leading company in customer relationship services and business process outsourcing (CRM / BPO) in Latin America. Atento is also a leading provider of nearshoring CRM BPO services to companies that carry out their activities in the United States. Since 1999, the company has developed its business model in 14 countries where it employs approximately 131,000 people. Atento has over 400 blue chip clients to whom it offers a wide range of CRM BPO services through multiple channels. It’s clients are mostly leading multinational corporations in industries such as telecommunications, banking, tech, fintech, health, retail and public administrations, among others. Atento’s shares trade under the symbol ATTO on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).Atento has been named one of the World’s 25 Best Multinational Workplaces and one of the Best Multinationals to Work for in Latin America by Great Place to Work®. Also, in 2021 Everest named Atento as a star performer. Gartner named the company as a leader for two years in a row, since 2021 in the Gartner Magic Quadrant. For more information visit www.atento.com
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Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “intends,” “continue” or similar terminology. In particular, these forward-looking statements include those about the effects on Atento and its growth of agreements with its shareholders. These statements reflect only Atento’s current expectations and are not guarantees of future performance or results. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, competition in Atento’s highly competitive industries; increases in the cost of voice and data services or significant interruptions in these services; Atento’s ability to keep pace with its clients’ needs for rapid technological change and systems availability; the continued deployment and adoption of emerging technologies; the loss, financial difficulties or bankruptcy of any key clients; the effects of global economic trends on the businesses of Atento’s clients; the non-exclusive nature of Atento’s client contracts and the absence of revenue commitments; security and privacy breaches of the systems Atento uses to protect personal data; the cost of pending and future litigation; the cost of defending Atento against intellectual property infringement claims; extensive regulation affecting many of Atento’s businesses; Atento’s ability to protect its proprietary information or technology; service interruptions to Atento’s data and operation centers; Atento’s ability to retain key personnel and attract a sufficient number of qualified employees; increases in labor costs and turnover rates; the political, economic and other conditions in the countries where Atento operates; changes in foreign exchange rates; Atento’s ability to complete future acquisitions and integrate or achieve the objectives of its recent and future acquisitions; future impairments of our substantial goodwill, intangible assets, or other long-lived assets; Atento’s ability to recover consumer receivables on behalf of its clients; and the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. Atento is also subject to other risk factors described in documents filed by the company with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which the statements were made. Atento undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
