Thrasio was an early leader in the large business of Amazon aggregators. He had a booth at Prosper Show in Las Vegas on July 14, 2021.
Thrasio, the largest U.S. aggregator for Amazon third-party sellers was racing to get to the public markets to support its rapid growth. According to sources familiar with the matter, Thrasio has delayed plans to go public via a SPAC due to financial audits that were not satisfactory.
Thrasio was looking to complete a reverse merger with an acquisition company for special purposes by the end the year. However, Thrasio changed his mind over the summer. According to the people, Thrasio could still pursue a SPAC but is also looking at other financing options such as an IPO.
Thrasio is facing increasing turnover in its C-suite. Bill Wafford (CFO), a former CFO at J.C. Penney, left Thrasio in August, three months after he joined the company. Thrasio announced that it has appointed Brian Cooper, chairman and CEO of Networx marketing company, as interim CFO
Last month, Josh Silberstein, co-founder, resigned as his co-CEO. Carlos Cashman will now serve as the company’s sole CEO.
Bloomberg reported that Thrasio was in negotiations to go public via a merger with an SPAC headed by Michael Klein, a former Citigroup executive. The valuation could reach as high as $10 billion. Thrasio, which oversees over 200 Amazon brands, made the audit more complicated than usual for an e-commerce company or tech company. According to a source, this has created a complex balance sheet.
Thrasio president Daniel Boockvar confirmed to CNBC that Thrasio has decided to not pursue a SPAC at the moment. However, he stated, "We never declared firm plans to go public via SPAC."
Boockvar stated in an interview that "Ultimately, our board and our leadership team looked at the market and decided that going public via SPAC was not the best choice at this point." "We are growing our business privately amazingly well and that's what we will continue to do."
Boockvar did not comment on whether or not the company was considering an IPO or any other funding options, but stated that "all options" are available to them.
Thrasio was established in 2018 and its peers like Heyday, Branded and Perch buy promising products and storefronts with the aim of using their operational expertise and data to boost sales. Marketplace Pulse reports that at least 77 Amazon aggregators have raised approximately $10 billion since April 2020.
Thrasio announced last month that it had raised $650m in a senior credit facility. This brings its total debt and equity to over $2.3 billion. It oversees over 200 brands, with more than 22,000 products in a variety of categories including skincare and camping equipment as well as home goods and fitness products.
CNBC's Disruptor 50 List ranked Thrasio 22nd this year.
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