- 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 /PRNewswire/ -- 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 their
second half 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
Media Relations
press@atento.com
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.
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SOURCE Atento S.A.