Atento
Atento is a multinational customer relationship management and business-process outsourcing provider founded in Spain and focused primarily on Latin American, United States and selected European markets.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Atento is a customer experience, customer relationship management (CRM) and business-process outsourcing (BPO) company. Its service portfolio includes customer care, sales support, collections, back-office processing, technical assistance, digital customer engagement and related technology-enabled services. The company serves large organizations that outsource parts of their customer-facing and administrative operations, rather than selling consumer products directly under the Atento name. The business began in 2000 when Telefónica consolidated its call-center activities in Spain and several Latin American countries into a dedicated subsidiary. Telefónica's telecommunications heritage gave Atento an initial base of customer-service work, but the company subsequently broadened its client portfolio to include multinational and domestic organizations in telecommunications, banking and financial services, healthcare, retail, public administration and other sectors. Its delivery model has combined physical contact centers with telephone, digital, automated and back-office channels. Atento became independent of Telefónica through a sale to Bain Capital agreed in 2012. The transaction was valued at approximately $1.3 billion, and Telefónica agreed to continue using Atento's services for a defined period after the sale. The separation created an independent BPO company while preserving an important anchor relationship. Atento later pursued a public-market strategy, announcing an initial public offering in 2014 and trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ATTO. The company has operated through regional structures generally described as Brazil, the Americas and EMEA. Brazil has been one of its major operating bases, while Spanish-speaking Latin America has remained central to its market identity. Reference material describes a network of dozens of contact centers across more than a dozen countries and hundreds of clients. The exact footprint has changed over time as Atento sold or reorganized individual country operations, including divestments in the Czech Republic and Morocco. Atento has also tried to move beyond labor-intensive traditional call-center work. In 2017 it created Atento Digital to bring together digital assets and support growth in automation, artificial intelligence and digitally mediated customer interactions. A minority investment in Keepcon in 2018 strengthened that direction through capabilities in artificial intelligence and automated content and customer-interaction management. Other acquisitions and alliances expanded collections, banking-services processing, consulting, data-center support and healthcare customer-service capabilities. Leadership under Carlos López-Abadía, appointed chief executive in 2019, reflected the company's effort to develop a more technology-oriented customer-experience business. Atento has received workplace, customer-service and industry recognition in several countries, including repeated recognition by Great Place to Work and awards associated with the Mexican and Brazilian customer-contact sectors. It has also been identified as a leader in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for customer-management contact-center BPO in relevant editions. The supplied reference material states that ABAI acquired Atento in November 2025. It further describes the transaction as including Atento's Spain unit and Morocco operations, while positioning the remaining business around artificial-intelligence-enabled customer experience in the United States and Latin America. Because the ownership and operating footprint have changed over time, current legal structure, headquarters and exact market coverage should be verified against a current corporate filing or company source.
History
Atento was established in 2000 in Spain when Telefónica organized its call-center activities in Spain and several Latin American countries into a specialized subsidiary. The initial business was closely connected to telecommunications customer service, but the operating model was designed to serve more than one client and eventually developed into a broader CRM and BPO platform. Atento supplied customer care, sales, technical assistance, collections and back-office work through contact centers and other channels. During its Telefónica period, Atento expanded its geographic and operational reach. Its clients came to include companies in telecommunications, banking and financial services, healthcare, retail and public administration. This diversification reduced the business's dependence on a single industry, although Telefónica remained an important commercial relationship. By the middle of the 2010s, reference material described Atento as one of the largest providers in Latin America and one of the world's leading providers by revenue. Frost & Sullivan was cited as attributing a 17.3 percent share of the regional Latin American market to Atento in the relevant period. A major ownership change occurred in October 2012, when Telefónica agreed to sell Atento to Bain Capital for approximately $1.3 billion. The terms included a commitment for Atento to continue providing services to the Telefónica Group for at least nine years after the agreement. The sale turned Atento into an independent sponsor-owned outsourcing company while maintaining continuity for a major customer. Atento pursued a public listing in the following years. In September 2014 it announced an initial public offering, and in October it filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an offering described as approximately $300 million. Morgan Stanley, Credit Suisse and Itaú Unibanco were identified as investment banks involved in the offering process. Atento subsequently traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ATTO. The company also reshaped its country portfolio. In 2014 it sold its Czech Republic operation to Comdata, presenting the transaction as a way to concentrate on core markets. In 2015 it sold its Morocco operations to Intelcia. The Morocco activities serving the Spanish market were excluded from that transaction and remained within Atento Spain. These disposals illustrate the company's effort to focus capital and management attention on markets where it had greater scale or strategic relevance. Brazil became an important center for expansion. In 2016 Atento acquired a majority stake in R Brasil Soluções to strengthen collections and digital-collections capabilities. In 2017 it acquired a majority stake in Interfile, a Brazilian company founded in 1991 that served the banking and financial-services market. The transaction broadened Atento's process expertise beyond conventional contact-center work. That year Atento also formed an alliance with Latin American consulting firm Falconi, intended to combine consulting capabilities with technology and customer-operations delivery. In 2017 Atento launched Atento Digital, a unit intended to integrate digital assets and accelerate growth in digitally enabled customer experience. The move reflected changes in how customers interact with companies, including web, messaging, automation and artificial-intelligence-supported service. In 2018 Atento acquired a minority interest in Keepcon, strengthening its ability to use artificial intelligence and automation in customer interactions. It also entered a partnership with T-Systems for data-center services in Brazil and worked with Unimed Rio to modernize customer-relationship structures. Atento's leadership changed in 2019 when Carlos López-Abadía was appointed chief executive, replacing Alejandro Reynal. Under this broader technology and digital-services direction, the company continued to present itself as a partner for customer experience, customer management and business-process transformation rather than simply as a provider of telephone answering services. Reference material describes Atento as operating through Brazil, Americas and EMEA segments. At different points it reported approximately 100 customer relationship centers across 14 countries and later described a network of 93 contact centers in 13 countries. The difference reflects changes in reporting periods and country operations. Its customers have included more than 400 organizations, particularly multinational corporations and large domestic enterprises. Atento has received workplace and industry recognition in multiple markets. Great Place to Work recognition has included repeated appearances among the world's best multinational workplaces and Latin America's best multinational workplaces, as well as country-level recognition in markets such as Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia and Central America and the Caribbean. It has also received IMT awards in Mexico, ABEMD awards in Brazil and CRC Gold recognition, including recognition as a leading customer-service outsourcer in Spain in 2018. Valor Econômico ranked it second among innovative companies in Brazil's service sector in one cited assessment. Gartner has identified Atento as a leader in relevant editions of its Magic Quadrant for customer-management contact-center BPO. The supplied material reports a further ownership transition in November 2025, when ABAI acquired Atento. It describes the deal as including the Spain unit and Morocco operations and as supporting a sharper focus on artificial-intelligence-led customer experience in the United States and Latin America. Current ownership, listing status, management and geographic footprint should be checked against post-transaction corporate disclosures.
- 2025
ABAI acquisition
[1]The supplied reference material reports that ABAI acquires Atento and that the transaction includes the Spain unit and Morocco operations.
- 2019
Carlos López-Abadía becomes CEO
[1]Carlos López-Abadía replaces Alejandro Reynal as chief executive.
- 2018
Keepcon investment and technology partnerships
[1]Atento invests in Keepcon and enters partnerships involving data-center services and customer-relationship modernization in Brazil.
- 2017
Atento Digital is launched
[1]The company creates Atento Digital to integrate digital assets and support technology-enabled customer experience growth.
- 2017
Interfile acquisition and Falconi alliance
[1]Atento acquires a majority stake in Interfile in Brazil and forms a strategic alliance with consulting firm Falconi.
- 2016
Expansion into collections
[1]Atento acquires a majority stake in R Brasil Soluções to expand collections and digital-collections services.
- 2015
Morocco operations are sold
[1]Atento sells its Morocco operations to Intelcia while retaining Morocco work serving the Spanish market within Atento Spain.
- 2014
IPO process and Czech divestment
[1]Atento announces an initial public offering and sells its Czech Republic operations to Comdata.
- 2012
Sale to Bain Capital
[1]Telefónica agrees to sell Atento to Bain Capital in a transaction reported at approximately $1.3 billion, with continued service commitments to Telefónica.
- 2000
Atento is launched by Telefónica
[1]Telefónica groups its Spanish and selected Latin American call-center activities into the Atento subsidiary.
Products and positioning
A multinational, technology-enabled CRM and BPO partner for enterprises that need outsourced customer service, sales, collections, technical support and administrative processing across voice, digital and automated channels.
CRM and contact-center services · 2000
Customer care
Atento manages customer inquiries and service interactions for enterprise clients across voice and digital channels. The work can include account assistance, issue resolution, information requests, retention activity and coordinated escalation. Telecommunications companies were part of the original customer base, but the service has also been offered to financial, healthcare, retail and public-sector organizations.
CRM and contact-center services
Sales and customer acquisition
The company provides outsourced sales support, lead handling, customer onboarding and related acquisition processes. These activities use contact-center personnel, workflow systems and digital channels to help clients convert prospects or expand relationships with existing customers.
Financial process outsourcing · 2016
Collections and digital collections
Collections services support clients in managing overdue accounts and recovery workflows. Atento's 2016 majority investment in R Brasil Soluções was intended to increase capabilities in conventional and digital collections, adding specialized process expertise to its wider customer-management portfolio.
Business-process outsourcing
Back-office processing
Atento performs administrative and transaction-processing work that sits behind customer-facing operations. Depending on the client and sector, this can include case administration, document and account workflows, data handling and other repeatable processes delivered through distributed operations centers.
Customer support services
Technical support
Technical-support operations help clients assist users with products, services and connectivity. The offering combines frontline troubleshooting, case management and escalation processes and has particular relevance to telecommunications and technology-oriented customers.
Digital customer experience · 2017
Atento Digital
Atento Digital was created as a dedicated unit for the company's digital assets and digitally enabled customer-experience services. Its remit includes the use of automation and artificial intelligence to support customer interactions, content handling and operational efficiency.
Financial-services outsourcing · 2017
Banking and financial-services processing
The acquisition of a majority stake in Interfile expanded Atento's presence in Brazilian banking and financial services. This line combines sector-specific process knowledge with customer management and administrative outsourcing for financial institutions.
Brand decisions
2025
Transfer ownership to ABAIM&ABackground
The supplied reference material describes a further ownership transition and a strategic emphasis on artificial-intelligence-driven customer experience in the United States and Latin America.
Action taken
ABAI acquired Atento, with the transaction reportedly including Atento's Spain unit and Morocco operations.
Aftermath
The reported result was a reshaped business focused on selected AI-enabled CX markets, although post-transaction corporate details require verification.
2017
Build a digital customer-experience businessStrategyBackground
Traditional contact-center operations were increasingly supplemented by digital channels, automation and artificial intelligence.
Action taken
Atento launched Atento Digital to integrate digital assets and support growth in technology-enabled customer experience.
Aftermath
The unit was reinforced by a minority investment in Keepcon in 2018 and related technology partnerships.
2014
Pursue a public listingOtherBackground
Following its separation from Telefónica, Atento sought access to public capital and greater visibility as an independent outsourcing company.
Action taken
The company announced an initial public offering and filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for an offering described in the reference material as approximately $300 million.
Aftermath
Atento traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol ATTO.
Proposed IPO size. $300 million (2014 IPO filing)
2012
Separate Atento from Telefónica through a saleM&ABackground
Telefónica sought to dispose of its customer-service outsourcing subsidiary while preserving access to outsourced customer-management capacity.
Action taken
Telefónica agreed to sell Atento to Bain Capital for approximately $1.3 billion and committed to continue using Atento's services for at least nine years under the agreement.
Aftermath
Atento became an independently owned BPO company while retaining Telefónica as an important customer relationship.
Reported transaction value. $1.3 billion (2012 transaction)
Recent events
Reported
Atento receives Brazil Customer Value Leadership Award[2]
Atento announced that it received Frost & Sullivan's Customer Value Leadership Award in Brazil's Customer Experience Outsourcing Services industry.
Reported
Atento appoints Hernan van Waveren investor relations director[3]
Atento announced that Hernan van Waveren was appointed Investor Relations Director, effective immediately.
Reported
Atento establishes accelerator partnership with Liga Ventures[4]
Atento established a partnership with Liga Ventures for Atento Next, its startup accelerator program, which was seeking startups focused on customer experience and related technologies.
Reported
Atento launches startup accelerator and open innovation platform[4]
Atento announced the launch of Atento Next, a startup accelerator, and an open innovation platform within its Innovation Hub. The platform's initial launch involved 500 employees and generated 38 ideas during its first 15 days.
Reported
Atento wins Brazil Customer Experience Banking Report Award[5]
Atento won the 2019 Banking Report Award in the Customer Experience category in Brazil for a case developed in partnership with Stelo, Cielo's payment solutions company.
Reported
Atento announces CFO appointment[6]
Atento announced the appointment of Jose Antonio de Souza Azevedo as Chief Financial Officer and a member of its Executive Committee, effective November 11, 2019.
Sources6 sources
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