Telefonica sells CRM unit to Bain Capital

Telefonica (NYSE: TEF) on Monday signed an agreement to sell its Customer Relationship Management (CRM) business, Atento, to Bain Capital for €1.039 billion ($1.3 billion).

Bain and Telefonica said they expect the deal to be completed by the end of the year after getting necessary regulatory approvals.

Under the terms of the agreement, Atento will continue to provide Telefonica services for the next nine years.

Telefonica's move to sell off Atento is part of a broader effort the telco is making to divest various assets, including shares in its German and Latin American units, to avoid a possible cut in its debt-rating.

The sale of Atento should be no surprise.

As far back as 2007, the Spain-based service provider has tried to divest the Atento unit. Last year, it abandoned an IPO for the division, which has more than 152,000 employees.

For more:
- Bloomberg has this article

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