SEATTLE: Apollo Global Management Inc and BlackRock Inc are in talks to provide new debt financing for the merger of two Amazon aggregators, according to people familiar with the matter.
The proposed deal continues an ongoing consolidation of such companies, which raised billions of US dollars and snapped up brands sold on Amazon.com Inc, only to watch the pandemic-era eCommerce boom fizzle.
In the latest merger, Paris-based Branded is in talks to acquire San Francisco-based Heyday in exchange for US$521mil in equity in a new company to be named Essor, which means “take flight” in French, the people said.
The new company would be worth more than US$1bil, said the people, who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive negotiations. The deal would include an undetermined round of new debt from BlackRock, Apollo and Apollo-backed Victory Park Capital to help Essor make acquisitions in the distressed direct-to-consumer eCommerce market, the people said.
BlackRock declined to comment, while Apollo declined to immediately comment.
Branded and Heyday were among dozens of aggregators with audacious plans to become Digital Age consumer conglomerates. Many are now saddled with debt, and Thrasio, which raised the most of any aggregator, filed for bankruptcy protection in February.
Branded chief executive officer Pierre Poignant will run the new company, the people said.
He previously co-founded the South-East Asia-focused online marketplace Lazada, in which Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has a controlling stake.
Branded raised US$140mil from investors including Berlin venture firm Target Global and sells such products as the Puracy line of plant-based cleaners.
Heyday founder Sebastian Rymarz will become president of the new company, which is expected to generate annual revenue of US$400mil, the people said. Heyday raised more than US$250mil from such investors as Khosla Ventures and General Catalyst, as well as debt from Victory Park Capital.
Heyday’s brands include the acne treatment Zitsticka, now sold in Target, and the flouride-free toothpaste brand Boka.
The newly formed company will use a new round of debt to buy promising online brands and try to boost their sales and exposure by getting them into big-box retailers, the people said.
More than 80% of consumer spending occurs in physical stores, according to EMarketer Inc, making shelf placement a promising strategy to boost sales of brands that began online.
Apollo in 2021 committed to invest up to US$500mil in senior secured credit facilities originated by Victory Park Capital, which has bet on multiple aggregators. BlackRock also made loans to Amazon aggregators, some of which the firm recently moved to non-accrual status, as borrowers began failing to make payments. — Bloomberg
