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Klarna
Swedish banking company Klarna has been valued at $10.65 billion following its latest equity funding round
A year ago, the Swedish startup was valued at $5.5 billion, meaning it doubled its value in just a years’ time
Klarna managed to record a 36% rise in year-on-year revenue for the first half of the year, up to $466 million
Even the worldwide pandemic doesn’t seem to be stopping the booming fintech trend. On the contrary, it seems that periods of economic turmoil – fueled by the pandemic in this case – will only accelerate significant innovation.
Klarna valued at over $10bln
Swedish banking company Klarna has been valued at $10.65 billion following its latest equity funding round. The results of the funding mean that Klarna became the highest-valued private financial technology firm in Europe, and fourth-highest in the world, according to the company’s announcement on Tuesday.
Klarna’s worldwide payments and shopping service, which operates across the retail sector with companies like ASOS, JD Sports, Superdry, Joules, Space NK, Nike, Samsung, reportedly secured $650m in its recent funding round.
The round was led by Silver Lake Partners, as well as Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, BlackRock and HMI Capital.
Merian Chrysalis, TCV, Northzone and Bonnier also bought shares from existing shareholders and will be joining the current investors including Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer, Permira, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bestseller Group and Ant Group.
On September 08, media outlets reported that Klarna is in talks with investors over a new round of funding. A year ago, the Swedish startup was valued at $5.5 billion, meaning it doubled its value in just a years’ time.
Buy now, pay later
The funding will boost the company’s expansion globally, particularly in the United States where Klarna is expanding at an incredibly quick pace and has over nine million consumers. According to its multi-year strategy, Klarna plans to file for an IPO in the U.S. in the next two years.
Klarna’s ‘buy now, pay later’ scheme played a major part in boosting the demand and captivated over 35,000 new retailers in the first half of this year. The fintech firm now has more than 200,000 retail partners.
“The shift to online retail is now truly supercharged and there is a very tangible change in the behaviour of consumers who are now actively seeking services which offer convenience, flexibility and control in how they pay and overall superior shopping experience,” Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna co-founder and CEO.
In spite of the coronavirus crisis, the company managed to record a 36% rise in year-on-year revenue for the first half of the year, up to $466 million.
Source: Digital Market News
