Klarna announces another big funding round, valuing it at $45.6bn

Buy now pay later big hitter Klarna has raised $639 million at a post-money valuation of $45.6 billion.

This comes just three months after the Swedish company’s last mega funding round and cements its status as Europe’s most valuable private FinTech venture.

SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led the latest round, which also included participation from existing investors Adit Ventures, Honeycomb Asset Management and WestCap Group.

Klarna plans to use the new capital to continue to grow in the US and globally.

When your new Klarna purchase arrives and you can't wait to try it on 😎 pic.twitter.com/jxPscL1vqV
— Klarna (@Klarna) June 9, 2021

“Klarna’s growth is founded on a deep understanding of how the purchasing behaviours of consumers are changing, an evolution which we believe is accelerating,” says Yanni Pipilis, Managing Partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers.

IPO

This past weekend, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO at Klarna, poured cold water on media reports that an IPO was imminent.

Journalist: When IPO?
Me: Maybe 1-2 years. Focus: long term. Worried: quarterly capitalism
J: But papers say imminent?
S: I always answer same. Not working on it. Eventually nice to let fans be shareholders.
J: Really? (Skeptic)
S: Focus is customer...
😂https://t.co/evEUAnNAuM
— Sebastian Siemiatkowski (@klarnaseb) June 6, 2021

He was responding to an article by The Sunday Times, stating that his company was likely to pick the US for its stock market listing.

“It’s more likely that Klarna will list in the US,” Siemiatkowski said. “The majority of my investors would say that’s where you usually list.”

However, London, he added, was also a possibility.

Trouble ahead?

There has been increasing political and regulatory scrutiny of buy now, pay later companies in recent times, based around concerns that they tempt consumers to purchase goods they cannot afford.

As a result, Klarna has been on something of a charm offensive, whilst also taking aim at traditional banks and credit card companies.

Last month, for instance, it launched a UK campaign titled #WhyPayInterest.

Running across OOH, online, on social media and in print, this aims to highlight the difference between BNPL products and traditional credit cards, challenging what Klarna calls “outdated business models and products that don’t serve consumers’ best interests”.