Chile's Sonda to invest $500 mln through 2012

SANTIAGO Dec 22 (Reuters) - Chilean technology company Sonda SON.SN plans to invest $500 million through 2012 to expand its businesses in Latin America, a company executive said in a newspaper interview.

Sonda's corporate finance manager, Rafael Osorio, told Santiago-based El Mercurio that the company wants to take advantage of an economic rebound to expand in Mexico, Brazil, Colombia and maybe other countries in the region.

"We have our foot on the accelerator, focusing on acquisitions that add value to Sonda," he was quoted as saying. He declined to detail the possible acquisition targets.

Sonda plans to use its own capital, a recent bond issue of $120 million and bank loans to finance the 2010-2012 investment plan, the daily said.

The information technology company, which has operations across Latin America, had consolidated net income of $44 million in the first nine months of the year, up 72 percent from a year earlier.

Allan Becker, a trader with the CorpCapital brokerage, said he expected the investment plan to boost the company's shares, which were up 0.89 percent in early Tuesday trade at 795 pesos. (Reporting by Alonso Soto; Editing by John Wallace)