Oaktree, an asset manager with $172B AUM, is publicly feuding with private equity shops Silver Lake and Advent, over the trio’s failed co-investment, Thrasio.

Thrasio is an e-commerce startup that collapsed under the watch of Silver Lake, Advent, and Oaktree. It was built to roll-up smaller Amazon marketplace sellers. Originally backed by venture capital funds such as Peak6 and Western Technology Investment, it cashed in with private equity dollars during 2021, when e-commerce hit a peak from lockdown demand.

During that peak, Thrasio was valued at $6B, but eventually the market cooled as consumers returned to their old ways once lockdown restrictions were loosened. The company saw bankruptcy in February of 2024.

Oaktree was exposed to $739M worth of preferred equity in Thrasio, and in a letter to shareholders, the fund placed blame on co-investors Advent and Silver Lake.

Bruce Karsh and two other portfolio managers wrote:

“We believed that Advent and Silver Lake, experienced PE firms with whom we have partnered numerous times, would be steady hands at the helm and able to professionalize the business… We didn’t have appropriate controls in place and instead relied on our alignment with the sponsors. This was clearly an error: we expected more judicious and cautious deployment of capital for growth, but our trust was misplaced.”

Not a good look!