Klarna valued at $10.6bn after $650m round led by Silverlake

Other investors include Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, as well as BlackRock and HMI Capital. At the same time, Merian Chrysalis, TCV, Northzone and Bonnier have acquired shares from existing shareholders. 

Current investors also include Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer Investment Company, Permira, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bestseller Group and Ant Group. 

The latest round nearly doubles Klarna's valuation of $5.5bn from August 2019, when it raised $460m from Dragoneer and other investors. It also makes it the highest-valued private European fintech company and the fourth largest in the world.

Klarna will use the proceeds to further invest in its service, continue to grow its global presence, and accelerate its growth across all markets, especially in the US where the company now has more than nine million consumers. 

According to a report in Reuters, the funding round is likely to be the last before the company files for an initial public offering.

In 2019, Klarna reported net operating revenues of $753m. 

Previous funding
In 2007, Investment Öresund provided €1.5m in series-A funding to Klarna. In 2010, US-based PE firm Sequioa invested $9m in a series-B round. Sequoia later reinvested alongside DST Global and General Atlantic to provide a $155m series-C funding in 2011. 

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 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, followed by a $100m investment round from existing investors in April 2019. 

In August 2019, Dragoneer, BlackRock and existing investors took part in a $460m round, valuing the company at $5.5bn. 

Company
Founded in 2005 and based in Stockholm, Klarna is a fintech company providing a "buy now, pay later" service to customers. The company currently has 235,000 merchant partners and 85 million customers. It generated net operating revenues of $753m in 2019 and employs 3,500 employees. 

People
Klarna – Sebastian Siemiatkowski (co-founder, CEO).

Advisers
Company – Numis (financial due diligence).

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