US Private Equity Firms Placing More Bets on Atento

Monashee Investment Management LLC has invested US$7.8 million in Atento, increasing its stake in the global BPO provider to 3.3%.

The Boston, MA-based investment management firm has purchased 770,000 shares of Atento in its latest round of investment, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

This is the latest in a series of investments that equity investors are making in the BPO operator, which has extensive operations across Latin America.

Citadel Advisors LLC, Arrowstreet Capital, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A., Virtu Financial LLC, and Royce & Associates LP have also bought a stake in the company recently, according a news portal The Lincolnian.

As the second biggest private sector employer in Brazil, Atento provides wide-ranging CRM BPO services, including customer care, sales, collections, back office, and technical support.

With a workforce of 79,000 people in Brazil alone, Atento is increasingly automating its hiring process, which is one of the many reasons for investors to place bets on its stock. Experts say investors are of the belief that increased automation may help the BPO provider save a huge amount of money on human resource (HR) management.

In Mexico, Atento has deployed artificial intelligence to identify the right candidates hires for its operations. An AI-enabled recruitment process can automate many tasks. For example, it can sift through thousands of resumes in a matter of minutes, identifying the right applicant with the required skill sets.

Meanwhile, the BPO provider is bulking up in Brazil even further, with reports from Brazilian media saying that Atento looking to add 300 more people to its operations in Sao Paulo, where it runs more than a dozen delivery centers.