Cambridge Analytica Wooed Corporate Mexico, Netflix Scene Shows

(Bloomberg) -- A new Netflix documentary shows that Cambridge Analytica, the now-infamous data analytics firm whose work on behalf of the Trump campaign caused an uproar among privacy advocates, had a couple of busy months in Mexico back in 2017.

Screenshots from a new Netflix documentary show that an executive had scheduled meetings with blue-chip companies including cement maker Cemex SAB, a bottler called Coca-Cola Femsa SAB and breadmaker Grupo Bimbo SAB.

None of the meetings appeared to have resulted in contracts for the firm, which an executive at one Mexican company described as extremely aggressive in seeking to set up a discussion. Cambridge’s pitch sounded far-fetched and the price tag was astronomical, according to the person, who asked not to be identified discussing private business matters.

Former Cambridge executive Brittany Kaiser revealed parts of her calendar on “The Great Hack,” which follows the firm’s involvement in President Donald Trump’s election and in the U.K.’s “Leave E.U.” campaign. Her agenda also shows time slots for Citigroup Inc.’s Banamex unit and Grupo Modelo SAB, as well as former President Vicente Fox’s think tank, Centro Fox, and for Mexico’s former ruling party, known as the PRI.

The pitches took place in the second half of 2017, according to the calendar and people familiar with the meetings.

Press officials for Cemex and Coke Femsa confirmed the meetings but both said they didn’t hire Cambridge. A Bimbo spokesman said he could find no record of any meetings and said the breadmaker never had a commercial relationship with Cambridge. Grupo Modelo’s parent company, Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, declined to comment. Centro Fox, Banamex and the PRI didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Bloomberg reported in July 2017 that Cambridge was hoping to use data mined from a phone app called Pig.gi to help a candidate in Mexico’s 2018 presidential election. Last year, U.K.’s Channel 4 News said the PRI worked with Cambridge, a claim the party later denied. In a statement back then, it said it had “never contracted” the firm.

Cambridge Analytica shut down all its operations last year, began insolvency procedures in the U.K. and also filed for bankruptcy in the U.S. in the wake of a massive Facebook Inc. data breach through which it obtained information from tens of millions of its users. The company was based in London and was funded in part by the family of billionaire Robert Mercer.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andrea Navarro in Mexico City at anavarro30@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Case at bcase4@bloomberg.net, Brendan Walsh

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.