Atento Luxco 1, one of the world’s largest providers of customer relationship management and business process outsourcing (CRM/BPO) services and industry leader in Latin America, announced its new business strategy following the successful completion of its restructuring process. Moving forward, Atento enters a new phase in its business strategy aimed at leading the way to Business Transformation Outsourcing, boosting its competitiveness in the market, and improving its growth outlook. In line with this new strategy, the Company is adopting a strong focus on technological investment for the transformation of the CX and its geographic expansion, with the employees and clients at the center.
Completion of the Restructuring
The Company today announces the occurrence of the Restructuring Effective Date on 27 November 2023 and the successful completion of its financial restructuring, implemented by way of a UK restructuring plan pursuant to Part 26A of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Restructuring Plan”). The Restructuring Plan was approved by the Company’s creditors at the creditor meetings held on 13 November 2023 with near-unanimous support from its creditors voting on the restructuring plan and was subsequently sanctioned by the English court at a sanction hearing held on 17 November 2023 in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.
As part of the restructuring, the Company has received additional commitments of $76 million through the Exit Financing process. In addition to the $37 million already received by the Company through June 2023 to August 2023, this increases the total investment to $113 million and provides the Company with a stable financial platform to implement its new business strategy. As a result of the Restructuring Plan, the Company has converted the majority of its debt into equity resulting in an expected FY24 net leverage ratio of 0.8x EBITDA and has eliminated costs in relation to its financing to provide additional capacity to re-invest in the business.
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“We’re excited to start this new phase with a strong focus on clients, people and technology. We believe that to lead the next era of CX it is key to structure intelligent, agile, and humanized services, where people must be at the heart of the interaction”, says Dimitrius Oliveira, CEO of Atento. “We are embarking on this new path more focused than ever on guaranteeing excellence, growing as a Company, expanding our geographical presence and revolutionizing the CX sector with a focus on transformation”, he adds.
The Company was advised by Sidley Austin LLP, Loyens & Loeff Luxembourg SARL and Houlihan Lokey EMEA, LLP in connection with the Restructuring Plan.
A new path to keep leading the Next Generation Customer Experience
The Company’s business strategy going forward will pivot on three main pillars: (i) revenue diversification, (ii) driving operational excellence, and (iii) transformation. In relation to revenue diversification, Atento aims to drive growth in the US market, continue to invest in the multilingual offering developed in EMEA and the Spanish nearshore, and inaugurate the Philippines region as an offshore location.
At the same time, the Company will continue to explore customer acquisition opportunities and the promotion of current customers, focusing on the opportunities provided by digital CX. The Company’s service offering will also focus on evolving from Business Process Outsourcing to Business Transformation Outsourcing, where AI and automation play a key role in strengthening competitiveness and are promoted with a focus on consulting.
Driving operational efficiency based on human-tech excellence
The Company will strengthen its operational excellence by focusing on its people and customers, providing continuous improvements on employee experience that lead to employee satisfaction, and, empowering its employees with the use of tools and technologies powered by AI, analytics and automation, resulting in exceptional customer service with a human touch.
At the same time, Atento remains focused on maintaining the excellent operational performance that has attracted positive Customer Satisfaction (CSat) and Net Promoter Score (NPS) records. In this regard, the Company continues to promote existing models such as Atento Work from Home Agents (WAHA), allowing Atento to have an infrastructure prepared to work remotely at any time, providing well-being and security benefits to its employees and allowing the Company to make gains in productivity and accelerate growth.
Accelerating technology implementation: Transformation is key
Another key pillar of the Company’s current strategy is the promotion of technology in all areas. From the base, the Company is promoting technology in internal processes. Additionally, Atento will promote technology in its current work with customers, by utilizing AI, RPA, bots or analytics that can automate basic transactions and enhance their transformation. Atento will also continue to launch and implement technology-driven offerings, in addition to its existing innovative technology, guided by a consultative approach to identify opportunities and accompany clients during their transformation.
In recent years, innovation has become an inherent characteristic of Atento, key to fostering internal and customer transformation and a crucial element to this new strategy. Analysts such as Frost & Sullivan and Gartner have recognized the Company’s leadership in this area in regions such as Latin America, where the Company continues to be a strong leader due to its experience in the industry, its focus on cybersecurity and its leading ESG practices in the region. Initiatives such as the innovation hub, the achievement of ISO 56002 and the constant launch of proprietary technology make a difference in the sector and endorse the Company’s trajectory on the road to continuous tech transformation.
The implementation of new technologies in services, particularly in AI and automation, have been critical to the Company’s day-to-day operations. From its application in candidate selection processes and employee training to the launch of Atena, the Company’s brand persona, these technologies lay the path to follow with customers to continue offering new technologies with the human touch at the center of the interaction.
Expectation of growth backed by expertise and trust from corporate ecosystem
In addition to expanding its presence in other markets and strengthening its position in existing markets, Atento’s financial strength allows it to continue focusing on its key clients.
Atento will continue to explore opportunities in the digital sector, with partners such as Microsoft, with whom it is already working with its Generative AI solution to guide agents in providing the best interaction.
It is expected that this new strategy will propel the Company’s key position in the market, with unique business knowledge based on experience and consultancy, evolving its service portfolio to deliver the best employee experience and continue to drive customer satisfaction in a changing technology environment.
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