Amazon FBA Aggregators: An analysis of why this new M&A trend has not reached the Italian market

Amazon has grown a lot in the last years, becoming one of the most important and biggest companies in the world. This growth of Amazon as a marketplace means that the merchants selling in Amazon are growing too. This growth is partly thanks to the opportunities Amazon gives to its merchants to escalate their businesses in a simple way. Opportunities like FBA -where Amazon takes care of the fulfillment- have been a key point in allowing the merchants grow. However, it is also noticeable that e-commerce in general is growing, not only Amazon. In this sense, 2020 was a very important year for the whole e-commerce market because the sector grew more than any other previous year. These factors combined led to a new type of Financial Acquisitions: FBA Aggregation. The “Amazon Aggregators” are companies that look for Amazon sellers with good performance and acquire them. Then, they create a portfolio of acquired companies and improve their financial performances. Since 2020 they have raised billions of US dollars in different investment rounds, breaking various records. Aggregators have emerged in many countries all over the world. In Europe, Aggregators have emerged in many countries, including the most important Amazon European markets. However, something noticeable is that no Aggregator has emerged in Italy. This thesis will study why the Amazon Italy market seems less attractive for aggregators compared to other Amazon markets, especially in relation to other comparable European markets.