MADRID, 21 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The New York Stock Exchange completed last Friday the delisting of the common shares of Atento, the former subsidiary of Telefónica’s ‘contact center’, after the company’s market capitalization has fallen for a period of at least 30 sessions below the minimum threshold of 15 million dollars (13.8 million euros).
As stated by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the New York Stock Exchange, where Atento began trading in September 2014, had determined on July 21 the suspension of Atento’s shares and ordered the preparation and presentation before the SEC of the request for the removal of said securities from the NYSE listing and registration.
Thus, the company, which had already been warned of the risk of exclusion last April, was notified in this regard on July 21, 2023, when trading in the company’s shares was immediately suspended.
In this sense, although Atento had the right to appeal before a committee of the Board of Directors of the Stock Exchange, the decision to exclude its shares from listing, the company did not present said request within the specified term.
In fact, in a statement issued on the same July 21, Atento indicated that the exclusion is contemplated as part of the comprehensive financial restructuring plan for balance sheet deleveraging, established in the restructuring support agreement signed by Atento and some of its financial shareholders, previously announced and with which it intends to optimize financial and operational efficiency and boost long-term growth.
In this way, almost nine years after its debut on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2014, Atento’s journey on Wall Street ends, where it began trading at a price of $15 set for its initial public offering.
Previously, in 2011, when Telefónica still controlled this company, the Spanish multinational tried to launch shares of its then subsidiary on the market, although it ruled out the operation due to the unfavorable situation of the markets.
At the end of 2012, Telefónica closed the sale of Atento to a group of companies controlled by Bain Capital for a total of 1,051 million euros.
