The merger of Konecta and Comdata creates a world leader in the industry

Milan, April 6, 2022 - KONECTA, a leading provider of Spanish-language CX (Customer Experience) BPO solutions, has entered into an agreement with Italy's COMDATA, creating the sixth largest player in the attractive CX BPO market with revenues of nearly €2 billion and EBITDA of €300 million. This merger will create a true global champion with multilingual capabilities (more than 30 languages) and a global footprint to provide "best shoring" to local, regional and global clients in various end-user industries such as financial and insurance services, technology, telecommunications, retail and e-commerce, utilities, industrial and healthcare. The new group will serve more than 500 large corporations in Europe and the Americas with local expertise of more than 130,000 employees.

KONECTA's founder and Chairman Jose María Pacheco and the management teams of KONECTA and COMDATA are working with Intermediate Capital Group (ICG), led by Jaime Chocrón in Spain, to implement this strategic combination. This transaction represents another important step in the strategy of growth, diversification and internationalization promoted by José María Pacheco.

The newly created group will be based in Madrid (Spain) and will be chaired by Mr. José María Pacheco, President of KONECTA. Mr. Jesús Vidal Barrio, CEO of KONECTA, and Mr. Maxime Didier, CEO of COMDATA, will become co-directors of the merged entity. The management team will execute a bold growth plan that will be able to capitalize on both organic and inorganic growth opportunities, and will put the merged entity on an ambitious path of double-digit growth based on comprehensive, omnichannel, technology-enabled solutions based on Big Data, AI, digital marketing and RPA.

The new group will leverage its leading position in Spain and Latin America, Italy and France to further develop its commercial and operational capabilities in its key markets. In addition, the group will have strong capabilities to support US nearshore and global clients across Europe.

The combined entity will create a robust financial structure that will drive the future development of the company and enable it to pursue its market consolidation objectives. The synergy between the experience and know-how of the two companies, their combined offering and digital capabilities will benefit the new group's market leadership in terms of competencies, size and geographies served.

José María Pacheco, Chairman of KONECTA, said, "Another step forward in KONECTA's growth path". "We are very excited to have created a new global leader that is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the opportunities in the very dynamic CX BPO market. KONECTA and COMDATA share a common vision in client service, industry expertise, innovation through technology and a focus on sustainable growth. The company, while maintaining its entrepreneurial approach, will benefit from ICG's partnership and expertise as it seeks to accelerate its growth and actively participate in market consolidation."

Maxime Didier, Co-CEO of the new group, and Massimo Canturi, CEO of COMDATA Italy and member of the Board of Directors of the new group, said, "We are very excited about this new chapter. We are delighted to be working with José María and Jesús, who have demonstrated incredible know-how with KONECTA. Also, the COMDATA teams, whom we would like to thank, are excited at the prospect of returning to the top league."

Completion of the transaction, which will be executed through the newly formed investment company KronosNet, is expected in the third quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approvals.

About Konecta:

Founded in 1999, KONECTA is a leading technology-enabled full-service CX BPO player in Spanish-speaking markets and has successfully grown and diversified its services to top-tier back-office and CX BPO companies in growth markets since its inception in 2000.

In recent years, KONECTA has successfully integrated various companies such as Brazil's Uranet and Spain's Rockethall Group, strengthening the company's leadership position in artificial intelligence, digital marketing and Big Data solutions.

In 2021, KONECTA achieved a turnover of 918 million euros.

About Comdata:

COMDATA is a leading global provider of innovative BPO services for customer management with 30 years of experience. The company combines an international presence with strong local expertise and has more than 50,000 passionate employees working in 30 languages across 4 continents and 21 countries.

COMDATA focuses on the needs and opportunities of each industry and offers a full range of comprehensive customer management solutions (acquisition, retention, customer service, technical support and debt recovery). These are built on a portfolio of world-class services including customer experience consulting and process reengineering, digital and cutting-edge technologies, and customer operations (front & back office). Headquartered in Milan, Comdata has global revenues of approximately €980 million and more than 670 clients, including some of the largest companies in telecommunications, energy, banking, automotive and mobility, retail and e-commerce.

About ICG:

ICG provides flexible capital solutions to help companies develop and grow. We are a leading global alternative asset manager with over 30 years of history, managing $71 billion in assets and investing across the capital structure. We operate in four asset classes: structured and private equity, private debt, real assets and credit. 

We develop long-term relationships with our business partners to deliver value to shareholders, clients and employees, and use our influence to benefit the environment and society. We are committed to becoming a net zero asset manager across all our operations and related investments by 2040. 

ICG is listed on the London Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: ICP). Further details are available at www.icgam.com.

Contact

Comdata Group 

Rina Porta Salvago

Group Communications Manager

Mobile +39 342 7601800

E-mail: rina.portasalvago@comdatagroup.com