Major Amazon merchant aggregator Thrasio files for bankruptcy as it looks to cut debt | KLRT [Video]

NEW YORK (AP) — A major third-party seller on Amazon filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in a New Jersey court on Wednesday.

Walpole, Massachusetts-based Thrasio is asking the court to oversee a restructuring agreement with lenders, which will allow it to cut about $495 million in debt and defer its interest payments for a year after it exists bankruptcy.

Thrasio is what is known as an Amazon aggregator, companies that buy other, smaller Amazon sellers, the independent businesses responsible for the majority of sales on the dominant e-commerce platform.

Aggregators raised large sums from investors seeking to cash in from Amazon sellers as online sales boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic. But that growth slowed as the pandemic eased and shoppers began to purchase more items in person, or shifted their spending toward other things, like traveling and dining.

Last year, another Amazon aggregator, Benitago, filed for bankruptcy .

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