May 3, 2023

Bell to offer free messaging for Aeroplan members on Air Canada flights US Regional Banks Slump as Rout Deepens on First Republic Flop Ukraine Latest: Zelenskiy Says US Didn’t Reveal Defense Leaks US Crypto Traders Avoiding Billions in Tax by ‘Loss Harvesting’ UniCredit CEO Orcel Has Quietly Axed 7,700 Jobs in Two Years US Chipmaker Says EU Green Subsidies Are Just as Good as at Home F1 Driver Mazepin Dumped After Ukraine Invasion Fights Sanctions Twitter Makes Second Interest Payment on Elon Musk’s Buyout Debt IBM Chief’s Message to Remote Workers: ‘Your Career Does Suffer’ EU Pledges €500 Million to Boost Ammunition Output in Europe Amazon ‘Aggregators’ Who Raised $16 Billion Are Now Teetering Treasury Flags Bigger Sales as Soon as August, Buybacks in 2024 What’s Trending Today: Tucker Carlson’s Texts, Twitter’s Bills, Messi Suspended US Service Industry Expands at a Modest Pace as Activity Cools Siemens Energy Weighs Sale of Electrical Components Maker Trench South Africa Rejects Nonprofit’s Charge in Win for Karpowership Russia Says It Downed Drone Attack on Putin’s Kremlin Residence CVS Cuts Earnings Outlook on Health-Care Acquisition Costs Morgan Stanley, UBS Pick Bonds Over Stocks on Recession Risk Ukraine Latest: Zelenskiy Says US Didn’t Reveal Defense Leaks Twitter Makes Second Interest Payment on Elon Musk’s Buyout Debt Why are oil prices falling? Here's what one expert says A Warm Atlantic Is Creating a Forecasting Puzzle: Weather Watch Siemens Energy Weighs Sale of Electrical Components Maker Trench Oil plunge deepens as concerns over economy drive selloff South Africa Rejects Nonprofit’s Charge in Win for Karpowership Mexico to Seek Equity, Debt Financing for Iberdrola Power Deal Iraq Says No Deal Yet With Turkey on Resuming Ceyhan Oil Flows Tesla’s Swelling Inventory Suggests Musk Will Keep Cutting Prices Canfor reports $142M Q1 loss compared with a profit a year ago Kenya’s Fourth-Quarter Economic Growth Slowed More Than Expected Iran Seizes Second Oil Tanker, Heightening Shipping Fears Supreme Court Takes on Federal Agency Power With Chevron Case Russia Halts Some Oil Wells But Keeps Production Data Secret Ukraine Grain Deal Talks Set as Russia Threatens to Exit Pact European Gas Prices Extend Slide as LNG Imports Swell to Record Coffee Drinkers Pay More as Farmers Prefer Durians in Vietnam Airbus April Jet Shipments Slip as Supply Chain Slows Output What to watch as U.S. Federal Reserve readies to pause with one last hike Public employees' remote work agreement just the beginning: labour expert Is returning to school worth it for advancing your career? Experts weigh in The Daily Chase: Restaurant Brands beats analyst expectations; Blackberry considers breakup Canadians targeted 'more aggressively' by fraud calls than Americans, study suggests Wage increases secured by striking workers shouldn't be seen as 'fat cat': experts Vancouver port traffic dips in 2022, hinting at economic slowdown to come ​What's the difference between a CRA tax review and audit? 'Godfather of AI' quits Google to talk more openly about the technology's 'dangers' Most Canada government workers end strike after deal on wages The Daily Chase: JPMorgan to buy majority of First Republic; Tentative deal for most federal workers British shops in Canada see demand for King Charles goods, despite royal drama ​Canada's economic momentum might be fading away: Economist After economy posts strong start to 2023, new data suggests slowdown has begun Federal government posts $3.1 surplus for first 11 months of 2022-23 fiscal year The Daily Chase: Canada's economy grew in February; Amazon under pressure Nearly one-third of Canadians worried about their vehicle getting stolen amid spike in thefts The Daily Chase: Glencore's Teck pursuit continues; Suncor to buy TotalEnergies for $5.5B Gen X buyers driving recreational property demand in Canada: Report South Africa Upgrades Banknotes to Thwart Counterfeiting Trump Won’t Testify in E. Jean Carroll Trial Over Lawsuit Alleging Rape Russia Says It Downed Drone Attack on Putin’s Kremlin Residence Mexico to Seek Equity, Debt Financing for Iberdrola Power Deal Brazil Police Search Bolsonaro’s Home On False Covid Data Kenya’s Fourth-Quarter Economic Growth Slowed More Than Expected Hungary to Pass Judiciary Changes to Tap €13 Billion in EU Funds Brazil in Talks With EU, UK Over Funds to Protect the Amazon Supreme Court Takes on Federal Agency Power With Chevron Case EU to Speed Up Lifting of Immunity in Crackdown on Corruption Biodiversity Beats Climate When It Comes to Swaying Republicans Brazil to Hold Key Interest Rate Steady as Fiscal Debate Starts Billionaire UK Tory Party Treasurer to Suspend Russian Business Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Makes Surprise Visit to Finland Wednesday Thaksin’s Daughter to Return to Campaign Trail After Child Birth Swiss Lower House Passes Bill to Ban Some Bonuses at Big Banks Mother’s Murder Rattles Top EU Country for Intentional Homicides AI ‘Will Cause Real Damage,’ Microsoft Chief Economist Warns German Companies Abroad Are More Optimistic But Don’t See Boom US Crypto Traders Avoiding Billions in Tax by ‘Loss Harvesting’ US Chipmaker Says EU Green Subsidies Are Just as Good as at Home Twitter Makes Second Interest Payment on Elon Musk’s Buyout Debt IBM Chief’s Message to Remote Workers: ‘Your Career Does Suffer’ Amazon ‘Aggregators’ Who Raised $16 Billion Are Now Teetering What’s Trending Today: Tucker Carlson’s Texts, Twitter’s Bills, Messi Suspended AI and Covid Job Disruptions Risk Hurting Women More Than Men Tesla’s Swelling Inventory Suggests Musk Will Keep Cutting Prices Brazil in Talks With EU, UK Over Funds to Protect the Amazon ADP Data Surprise With Biggest Private Payrolls Gain Since July TSMC Plans for First German Chip Fab With Cost Up to €10 Billion Airbnb Revamps Site to Ease Tensions Between Guests, Hosts San Francisco Woes Multiply as Nordstrom Joins Retailers Fleeing Canadian Twitter users on why they decided to pay for their blue check mark Visa, Tiger Global Back Open Banking Firm Tarabut’s Saudi Push Grounded Go Air Fliers Anxious as Another India Carrier Stumbles Why You Should Always Bring Two Phones With You When Traveling ByteDance Scraps Free Tier of Resso Music Streaming Service Malaysia to Start Second 5G Network Early 2024 to End Monopoly The U.S. Fed is failing in four ways: Mohamed A. El-Erian Apple, JPMorgan turn to pay now grow later Remote Working Boom Is Huge for College Towns Like Knoxville Walmart flashes a warning sign to the entire consumer economy: Andrea Felsted Millennials are finally spending like grown-ups Dismal U.S. GDP report raises the odds of recession this year: Gary Shilling Musk is wrong for Twitter even if deal math works out Chocolate bunnies can teach us to save our food supply The Fed has made a U.S. recession inevitable America's oil reserve weapon risks misfiring Four-day workweeks can burn you out U.S. Fed expects a soft landing. Don't count on it Markets are pushing Fed into developing-economy territory Commodity traders go from bonanza to bailout plea Putin's war shows West must clean up dirty money Salary transparency is good for everyone Microsoft's US$69B Activision deal could be a blunder What if the oil market bulls are wrong and this lonely bear is right? Canada's trucker protest may spread from Ottawa to U.S. Morgan Stanley, UBS Pick Bonds Over Stocks on Recession Risk U.S. stocks bounce as oil sinks below US$70 before Fed rate decision Shorts of China-Heavy Emerging-Market ETF Rise Above $1 Billion Cautious Start Awaits China Stock Traders Returning From Holiday Wall Street Rattled by Selloff, Trading Halts at Two Small Banks Bid to Launch ETFs That Aim to Double Tesla’s Famous Volatility Filed With SEC Short Sellers Tightened Grip on Regional Banks in Runup to Rout Trader ‘Exhaustion’ Drags April ETF Volume to Lowest Since 2020 This Week in China: ETFs Lure $6.5 Billion as Retail Traders Buy Regional Bank Stocks Stabilize as Contagion Fears Ease, for Now China and the Fed Keep Investors Swinging Between Oil and Gold Retail Investors Bearish on Japan Stocks as Foreigners Pile In JPMorgan Overthrows JPMorgan for Crown of Largest Actively Managed ETF Hedge Funds, Buybacks Drive $2.3 Billion Into Stocks, Bank of America Says 21Shares, Cathie Wood Revive Bitcoin ETF Bid After Price Rebound Four Reasons Why Investors Expect US Dollar to Keep Sliding Citi's Japan Clients Bet on US Dollar, Aussie as Ueda Cools BOJ Bets Bitcoin ‘Halving’ Due Next Year Spurs Predictions of Rally in Token Past $50,000 Tech Surge Sends Valuations to Extremes, but Traders Don’t Care BCE CEO says tech hiring & donations continue despite tough economy Cenovus CEO Pourbaix to step down, become executive chair; Jon McKenzie to be new CEO Manulife CEO on diversification, insurance demand and digital transformation Decision on new Suncor CEO expected 'very soon' Restaurant Brands' CEO change is 'all about accelerating growth': Executive chairman Restaurant Brands' CEO change is 'all about accelerating growth': Executive chairman Reed Hastings explains why he's stepping down as Netflix CEO in blog post Bankman-Fried says in court that he's ready for U.S. extradition SBF sent back to Bahamian jail after catching lawyer off guard with U.S. extradition plan Disney's Iger returns to reckon with his own 15-year Legacy Women making small gains, but still troublingly under-represented in the C-suite Gerry Schwartz to step down as CEO at Onex, Bobby Le Blanc named next CEO Dominic Barton on Canada-China relations, future at Rio Tinto 'We’re serving Canadians better' following the pandemic: McKesson Canada CEO Rebecca McKillican World's richest family loses US$11.4B in Walmart rout 'Fine balance': Rania Llewellyn on fitting her long-term inclusion goals into Laurentian's revamp First female bank CEO in Canada leads with younger self in mind ​Company holiday parties are making a comeback, but many employers have a plan B Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos now worth almost half a trillion dollars BCE You are now being redirected to the BCE.ca website (Bell Canada Enterprises), where you can view our Accessibility plan, and submit your feedback using our Accessibility webform. Spencer Soper, Bloomberg News , Source: Bloomberg research (Bloomberg) -- During the pandemic, Wall Street banks and private equity firms invested billions of dollars in startups rolling up popular brands sold on Amazon.com Inc. The bet was that these upstarts, fueled by an online sales boom, would become the next consumer product conglomerates — like Procter & Gamble or Unilever. Then the pandemic ended, consumers returned to the stores, and Amazon’s sales growth cratered — erasing almost half of its market value. Now the reckoning has arrived for these so-called brand aggregators. With names like Thrasio, Razor Group and Perch, the companies aren’t widely known but over the past few years have shelled out tens of millions of dollars for tea kettles, foot massagers, peppermint-based jock-itch remedies, medicine balls, magnetic eyeglass holders, air purifiers and more. To finance the buying spree, they raised $16 billion – mostly debt – from big names like JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., BlackRock Inc. and Bain Capital, as well as smaller investment funds. Rising interest rates, higher costs and cooling online demand have pushed some of these upstarts to the edge, forcing them to seek debt relief or merge with one another, according to people familiar with the situation. There are so many aggregators and investors speaking with one another it’s difficult to predict which companies will emerge intact and which will get washed out. The consolidation could ding some lenders, which might be forced to write down their investments, a hit that could collectively reach billions of dollars. BlackRock said in February that it wrote down the value of Razor Group, contributing to the investment firm’s fourth-quarter decline in assets. The alternative to writedowns could be even more painful: businesses that go broke trying to go it alone and can’t pay back anything at all. “There’s a ‘Game of Thrones’ vibe around this entire industry,” said Juozas Kaziukenas, founder and chief executive officer of Marketplace Pulse, which monitors online sales and tracked the aggregators’ emergence. “There’s a lot of pride in these negotiations, like which company gets to keep the name and who will be CEO.” Bloomberg interviewed more than 25 aggregators, investors and brokers to chronicle the travails of an industry that emerged from the shadows of Amazon just a few years ago and employs some 9,000 people around the globe. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, BlackRock and Bain Capital all declined to comment. Aggregators Thrasio, Razor Group and Perch also declined to comment. Many aggregators were inspired by Anker Innovations Technology Co., which started out selling cheap phone chargers on Amazon and today sells a range of electronics online and in big-box stores like Walmart. Rather then spend years building brands from scratch as Anker did, the aggregators looked for ones that were already doing brisk business on Amazon. The theory was that any combination of products could achieve economies of scale since almost all of the merchandise could be consolidated in shipments from China and sold on Amazon’s sprawling marketplace. Lenders encouraged the aggregators to borrow and buy with little oversight, betting the biggest would be in the best position to go public quickly. Read more: Bidding Wars Break Out in Sizzling Market for Amazon Brands The $16 billion that flowed into the nascent industry went to about 60 firms, according to Marketplace Pulse. Thrasio, the largest of them, raised $3.4 billion, including a $500 million round in 2021 that JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Corp. and Morgan Stanley participated in. Berlin Brands Group, Razor Group, Perch and Heyday raised $1.3 billion, $1 billion, $908 million and $800 million respectively. Morgan Stanley declined to comment, and Bank of America didn’t respond to requests for comment. The first warning signs emerged in 2021 as online spending cooled. Thrasio shook up management and delayed plans to go public with a blank check company. Other aggregators stopped buying brands and began gutting teams they’d just built. Costs rose, and some were forced to offer steep discounts to move merchandise. It hasn’t helped, according to insiders, that aggregators tended to hire people steeped in dealmaking rather than selling online. “The assumption that any layman can run an e-commerce business is wrong,” said Michal Baumwald Oron, CEO of Fortunet, an investment banking firm serving online businesses. “The successful brands are run by smart professionals and so will the successful aggregators.” In March, about 30 entrepreneurs representing 15 aggregators convened a private dinner in Las Vegas during the annual Prosper Show, which caters to online merchants. Over rib-eyes and chicken piccata at Scarpetta, an Italian restaurant in the Cosmopolitan, the group brainstormed strategies to weather the slump, according to four people who were there and requested anonymity to discuss a private matter. Top of mind for the diners was the fact that many aggregators have breached financial requirements governing hundreds of millions of dollars in high-interest loans. That has prompted lenders to take a more aggressive role in their day-to-day operations. The most immediate solution, according to people involved in the conversations, is for the aggregators to consolidate in exchange for more favorable loan terms. At the start of the dinner, one guest jokingly suggested locking the door until they’d agreed to form one big company. The crack smoothed the way for more serious conversations about negotiating with lenders, finding new funding sources and, most importantly, exploring potential partnerships. Loan terms negotiated before the downturn could potentially hinder consolidation. Lenders put protections in place to prevent aggregators from selling their assets below a certain amount, much like a bank preventing the sale of a home for less than what’s owed on a mortgage. Since many brands sold on Amazon are now less valuable, loan covenants will have to be revised for deals to go through, said John Fang, co-founder and managing partner at Two Roads Advisors, a boutique investment bank in New York that has worked on about a dozen aggregator transactions. “We’re aware of these covenants, and we’re working with new money to structure around [the issue] without overpaying for assets,” Fang said. “A lot of these aggregators are kind of like zombie companies just burning through cash unless their lenders are willing to take massive haircuts,” said one dinner attendee, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the conversations were private. “Everyone is kind of screwed at this point.” Victory Park Capital, a Chicago fund with $4.6 billion under management, invested in at least seven aggregators that raised a total of $3.85 billion. The fund is trying to unwind its exposure and is pushing some of its aggregators to merge, according to people familiar with the matter. Victory Park invested in Berlin-based Razor Group, which raised $1 billion and purchased smaller aggregators factory14, Valoreo and Stryze Group. Victory Park declined to comment. Another lender seeking options is Miami-based CoVenture, which has $2 billion under management. It invested in five aggregators that raised a total of $738 million. The firm for months has been trying to sell pieces of Benitago Group, which raised $380 million, and Acquco, which raised $160 million, without success, according to people familiar with the matter. CoVenture declined to comment. Benitago CEO Santiago Nestares said the company is no longer looking to sell its brands and is working to “maximize their value by keeping those brands within our portfolio.” Acquco didn’t respond to requests for comment. “If you take two mediocre companies and put them together, that doesn’t really give you any efficiencies,” said one person involved in talks between aggregators and lenders. “I don’t think this shakeout is anywhere near done in terms of the fire sales that need to happen.” In the meantime, talks are accelerating on multiple fronts: Perch, the fourth biggest aggregator, hired investment banking firm Houlihan Lokey Inc. to explore potential acquisitions several months ago and is in discussions with five potential targets including CoVenture-backed Acquco, according to people familiar with the matter. Houlihan Lokey didn’t respond to requests for comment. SellerX, a Berlin-based aggregator that raised $767 million, is in talks to merge with Elevate Brands of New York, which raised $592 million, according to people familiar with the matter. A combined company would be second to Thrasio in terms of overall funding raised. Elevate Brands declined to comment. SellerX didn’t respond to requests for comment. Minneapolis-based Suma Brands, which raised $150 million, is in talks to buy D1 Brands of New York in a distressed sale, according to people familiar with the matter. D1 Brands investors include CoVenture. Suma Brands and D1 Brands didn’t respond to requests for comment. Miami-based unybrands, which raised $325 million, has halted buying brands and is looking at other aggregators for a potential acquisition, according to people familiar with the matter. Unybrands declined to comment. Thrasio, which snatched up more than 200 brands during its pandemic buying spree, is still retrenching. It has some wins, most notably the pet deodorizer Angry Orange now being sold at Walmart. But Thrasio also has to cull its underperforming brands to focus on profitability, according to people familiar with the matter. Its new CEO Greg Greeley spent almost 20 years at Amazon, a stint that included the dot-com bust of the early aughts and the Great Recession. Razor Group, the third-largest aggregator, is attracting a lot of interest. In December, L Catterton, a private equity firm backed by Bernard Arnault, the world’s wealthiest man, led a $70 million round in the company. The infusion bankrolled Razor’s acquisition of Valoreo, a Mexico City-based aggregator. L Catterton’s strategy is to pull together firms that have expertise with e-commerce players in different markets, such as Amazon in the US and MercadoLibre Inc. in Latin America, said Ramiro Lauzan, a partner at the private equity firm. “Razor, in our view, is one of the emerging winners in this space,” Lauzan said. “They’re among the top three worldwide, alongside Thrasio and maybe one more.” Upper90, among the first to invest in Thrasio back in 2018, is also betting Razor has bright prospects. “Some companies will go under,” said Billy Libby, Upper90’s co-founder and CEO. “And the bigger will keep getting bigger.” ©2023 Bloomberg L.P.