Jim Chanos, one of Wall Street’s most prominent short sellers and the investor known for exposing energy trader Enron’s fraud, has said that the bankruptcy of U.S.-based First Brands Group could trigger a wave of corporate collapses.

The 67-year-old investor sounded the alarm about the private debt boom in an interview with The Financial Times on Thursday.

"I suspect we're going to see more of these things, like First Brands and others, when the cycle ultimately reverses," he said, "particularly as private credit has put another layer between the actual lenders and ...