IDB Invest lends US$50 million to LatAm CRM group
Lily Squires
Atento, the largest provider of customer relationship management (CRM) and business-process outsourcing (BPO) services in Latin America, has hired several firms in the region to obtain a US$50 million working capital facility from IDB Invest.
The company enlisted Argentine outfit Marval O'Farrell & Mairal, Cescon, Barrieu, Flesch & Barreto Advogados in São Paulo, Chile’s Carey, Colombian firm Brigard Urrutia and González Calvillo, SC in Mexico City.
The lender turned to four offices of Clifford Chance LLP and Garrigues (Mexico) for the deal, which closed on 26 January.
Latin Lawyer understands that US firm Sidley Austin LLP, Peru’s Berninzon & Benavides Abogados and Arendt & Medernach in Luxembourg also provided counsel to Atento, but this could not be confirmed before publication.
The financing marks the largest IDB Invest loan in the CRM and BPO sector globally.
Atento operates in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Uruguay.
The group will use the proceeds of the financing to support its capital expenditure and working capital needs to grow its CRM and BPO operations.
Atento hopes that the facility will help it improve digitalisation in Latin America and the Caribbean, subsequently reducing the need to import digital services.
IDB Invest finances projects and infrastructure across Latin America. At the end of 2021, a Colombian port in the northern department of Antioquia received a US$394 million credit line from IDB Invest and IDB. The same lenders bought US$220 million worth of bonds issued by a Paraguayan road project in December. In the same month, IDB Invest granted a US$300 million loan to Brazil’s Banco Daycoval to support female entrepreneurship. In November, it lent US$25 million to Peruvian bank Caja Municipal de Ahorro y Crédito Cusco.
Counsel to Atento
In-house counsel – Alvaro Barrón
Marval O'Farrell & Mairal
Partners Hernan Slemenson and Luciano Ojea Quintana in Buenos Aires
Cescon, Barrieu, Flesch & Barreto Advogados
Partner Daniel Laudisio and associates Dimitrios Constantelos and Maria Victória Martignon in São Paulo
Carey
Partners Alejandra Daroch and Francisco Ugarte, and associate Natalia Reinicke in Santiago
Brigard Urrutia
Partner Luis Gabriel Morcillo and associates Luis Alejandro León and Catalina Rodriguez Rico in Bogotá
González Calvillo, SC
Partner Jorge Cervantes, counsel Alberto Bustamante and associate Fernando Blanco in Mexico City
Counsel to IDB Invest
Clifford Chance LLP
Partners Kate McCarthy and Jessica Springsteen, and associate Mari Correa in Washington, DC; associate Julian Hurtado Vallejo in New York; partner José Guardo and associate Juan Puras in Madrid; and associate Sadan Ramovic in Luxembourg
Garrigues (Mexico)
Partner Mario Juárez and associates Ulises Patiño and Miguel Ángel Reyes in Mexico City
