Berlin Brands Creates $302M Acquisition Fund For D2C Startups And Amazon Sellers

German eCommerce startup Berlin Brands Group (BBG) is embarking on a new plan to invest 250 million euros (about $302 million) into buying smaller companies, TechCrunch reported.

BBG, according to the report, differs from other eCommerce companies in that it has built itself up from scratch, with the money it has put away for its acquisitions coming from the startup’s own balance sheet. The company is also planning to raise a significant amount of outside funding to continue with its growth.

Founder and CEO Peter Chaljawski said the difference between the markets in the U.S. and Europe is that Europe’s mergers and acquisitions market is “more fragmented,” and that Amazon isn’t quite as towering a presence, the report stated.

“In the U.S., D2C sellers do a lot on Amazon,” he said, according to TechCrunch. “In Europe, there are still lots of alternatives. And in some markets like France, consumers don’t even like Amazon.”

That’s in addition to selling directly to consumers and doing away with bigger eCommerce umbrellas, the report stated. Chaljawski said that would also be a primary area of interest for BBG, which he said uses 100 channels to sell products.

BBG has a range of item categories it sells, including audio equipment, fitness equipment, household appliances and more. And with the new acquisitions, the company plans to grab new brands in garden, home and living goods, sports and more. The targets should generate around 500,000 euros to 30 million euros (about $605,000 to $36.3 million) in revenues, according to the report.

BBG isn’t alone in its goal; startups raising large amounts of money to consolidate direct-to-consumer (D2C) businesses have been a constant in recent months. One of them is Thrasio, which PYMNTS reported is “snapping up” some of the Amazon third-party sellers for its own business.

After Thrasio buys the Amazon businesses, it onboards, optimizes and operates them. As of last summer, the company had acquired over 50 Amazon businesses.