Swedish scaleup Klarna, a leading global payments and shopping service, has announced it has raised around €547 million in an equity funding round, at a post money valuation of around €8.9 billion. This ranks Klarna as the highest-valued private fintech in Europe and now the 4th highest worldwide.
The fresh funds will help Klarna further invest in its unique shopping offering, continue to grow its global presence, and accelerate its strong momentum across all markets, especially in the US where the company is growing particularly rapidly and now has more than 9 million consumers. The round was led by Silver Lake, alongside GIC, as well as funds and accounts managed by BlackRock and HMI Capital. Simultaneously, Merian Chrysalis, TCV, Northzone and Bonnier have acquired shares from existing shareholders. They will join current investors such as Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer, Permira, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bestseller Group and Ant Group in supporting Klarna’s future growth.
Klarna, founded in 2005, provides a healthier, simpler and smarter alternative to credit cards and a broad range of services to enable a superior shopping journey, having won 90 million consumers worldwide so far. This is at a time when consumers are actively turning away from revolving credit lines and inferior retail experiences towards services that better meet their needs.
Klarna’s direct to consumer app, which enables users to shop at any store or brand online with installment payment options, is strongly resonating as consumers have become more focused on convenience, value and control. The app has more than 12 million monthly active users worldwide, with 55,000 daily downloads, significantly outpacing its nearest competitor with almost 3x as many downloads over the last year. In the app, consumers can also now wishlist their favourite items, access unique discounts, set up price-drop notifications and track spending and deliveries intelligently. The app also features one of the world’s first buy now, pay later shopper loyalty programmes, Vibe, which rewards consumers who pay on time, to encourage responsible spending. Vibe is currently available to consumers in the US and will soon be launched in additional markets.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna commented: “We are at a true inflection point in both retail and finance. 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 an overall superior shopping experience. Klarna’s unique proposition, consumer preference and global retailer network will prove an excellent platform for further growth. The Klarna team is honoured to welcome such world class investors to support our mission to become the world’s favourite way to shop.”
Egon Durban, Co-CEO and Managing Partner, and Jonathan Durham, Managing Director, of Silver Lake commented: “Klarna is one of the most disruptive and promising fintech companies in the world, redefining the ecommerce experience for millions of consumers and global retailers, just as ecommerce growth is accelerating worldwide and rapidly shifting to mobile. Klarna’s retail partners benefit from incremental traffic and dramatically improved customer conversion. Consumers love Klarna for its differentiated app-based shopping experience and for their flexible and transparent payment options. We are excited to invest in the company and partner with Sebastian and his talented team at this dynamic time to help accelerate Klarna’s remarkable growth and success worldwide.”
