BlackRock et al. in $460m funding round for Klarna

The deal, which was led by US-based Dragoneer Investment Company, values the company at $5.5bn.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia, HMI Capital, Merian Chrysalis Investment Company, Första AP-Fonden, IPGL and IVP also invested in the round.

The fresh capital will go towards the expansion of Klarna in the US. The company currently gains six million customers annually in the US, according to a statement. The company has also established an exclusive partnership in Australia and New Zealand with Commonwealth Bank of Australia.

Previous funding
In 2007, Investment Öresund provided €1.5m in series-A funding to Klarna. In 2010, US-based private equity firm Sequioa provided $9m in series-B funding. Sequoia then reinvested along with DST Global and General Atlantic to provide a $155m series-C funding round in 2011, which the company used to acquire Sofort.

In 2012, Atomico acquired a minority stake in Klarna from Anralk Holding – owned 41% by Investment Oresund and 59% by Creades – for an undisclosed amount. Anralk's remaining ownership in Klarna stood at 6%, then valued at SEK 399m.

Investment Öresund and Creades sold their shares in the company to Partners Group in 2013 for SEK 172m. The deal valued the company at SEK 8.2bn in total. Sequoia, General Atlantic and Atomico then invested a further €90m in March 2014.

Nordic VC Northzone, the Wellcome Trust and mutual fund Wellington Management bought an $80m stake in 2015, reportedly valuing the company at $2.25bn.

In June 2017, Visa invested in Klarna. The value was not disclosed, but new equity was issued as part of the transaction.

In July 2017, Permira acquired a 10% stake from General Atlantic, DST Global and Klarna co-founder Niklas Adalberth for $250m, according to press reports.

Private investor and rapper Snoop Dogg invested in the company in January 2019. Existing investors participated in a funding round that raised more than $100m in the company in April 2019. The round valued the company at SEK 32bn ($3.5bn) with backers including Brightfolk, Sequoia, Permira and the three founders of the company: Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Niklas Adalberth and Victor Jacobsson.

Company
Founded in 2005, Klarna employs 2,500 people and is headquartered in Stockholm. The company is a payments services provider and a fully licensed bank, working with merchants such as H&M, Adidas, Ikea, Expedia Group and Asos. It is active in 14 countries.

People
Dragoneer Investment Company – Marc Stad (founding partner).
Merian Chrysalis Investment Company – Richard Watts (co-manager).
Klarna – Sebastian Siemiatkowski (co-founder, CEO).

Advisers
Company – Numis Securities (corporate finance).

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• Topics
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