Published 4 July 2023, 12:47:18.728 GMT
* On Monday morning, Atento said it had agreed to issue new notes due 2025 and to exchange certain senior secured notes due 2026 for new junior lien 2025 notes, “which will be equitized into 100% of the restructured equity, subject to dilution”
* The 2026 notes are already trading at “very distressed levels,” but may plunge further as “investors could be reluctant to proceed with a possible swap of the senior secured notes due 2026 for equity in a private company with a murky outlook,” credit analyst Filipe Botelho wrote in a research note
** “Our initial reading is that the proposed transaction is worse than we had expected”
** Also cites reduced visibility as Atento is yet to publish its audited financial statements for 2022
* Atento’s 2026 bonds last changed hands at 15.90 cents on the dollar, near record lows, according to Trace data
By Vinicius Andrade