Narayan AmmachchiEuropean BPO firm Atento has acquired a majority stake in Interfile in a deal that marks the company’s major push into Brazil’s lucrative credit management services sector.
Founded in 1991, Interfile provides back-office service to Brazil’s major banking and financial services firms.
“Together, we will provide credit origination BPO solutions across Latin America,” Atento stated in a press release. Interfile’s F&A services include document management and billing.
With Interfile in tow, Atento claims 10% market share in Latin America’s credit origination BPO market, worth around US$1 billion.
“The joint capabilities of Atento and Interfile will make us the largest provider of credit origination BPO solutions in Brazil. We will offer a superior and integrated BPO services platform to manage all pre-sales and post-sales activities,” said Mario Camara, Atento Brazil Managing Director.
Interfile has more than 1,700 employees, two BPO service centers, 28 operations offices, and more than 1,400 workstations across the South American country.
“This acquisition allows us now to provide a fully integrated BPO platform to deliver end-to-end solutions for the Financial Services sector,” said Alejandro Reynal, Atento’s CEO.
Atento has begun restructuring its operation. According to Brazil’s financial newspaper Valor Economico, the BPO firm has already laid off more than 10,000 of its employees in Brazil, besides automating some of its services and eliminating some managerial positions as part of a cost-cutting program.
The restructuring comes following a decline in revenue from Brazilian operations. Between January and September 2016, its revenue in Brazil declined more than 7%.
The acquisition of Interfile is expected to increase its revenue substantially in Brazil. The founders of Interfile, Mauricio Menezes and all of the key management team, will continue to lead the company even after the closer of the deal.
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