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Klarna has increased its valuation by 50% to $ 45.6 billion in just three months as the now-paid buying company raised new capital from the Japanese SoftBank.
The new assessment: from $ 31 billion in March i $ 11 billion last September: cemented the Swedish group’s position as the most valuable private fintech technology company in Europe.
SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 led the $ 638 million fundraising round and joins investors such as Silver Lake, China’s Ant Group, H&M and Sequoia Capital ahead of a highly promoted initial public offering that anticipates in the coming years.
“Klarna’s growth is based on a deep understanding of how consumer buying behaviors are changing, an evolution we believe is accelerating,” said Yanni Pipilis, managing partner of SoftBank Investment Advisers.
Unlike SoftBank’s Vision Fund 1, which was largely funded with external money, much of the Middle East, the second Vision Fund is made up of money exclusively from the Japanese investment group.
Last month, SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son said it would increase the company’s Vision Fund 2 funding from $ 10,000 to $ 30 billion while the Japanese group increases investments in private companies around the world.
Klarna is moving rapidly toward the U.S. and told investors that its U.S. business would soon be “several times larger than our current business,” according to material seen by the Financial Times. According to the same information provided to potential investors, the volume of payments processed by Klarna in the United States increased 296% in the fourth quarter.
Klarna, which is regulated as a bank in Sweden, positions its offering as a “super app,” used by consumers not only for payments, but also for shopping and retail banking.
However, it faces challenges with increasing political and regulatory scrutiny of companies that now pay and pay after worrying about whether to push consumers to buy goods they can’t afford.
Klarna’s application had problems on May 27, when about 90,000 users were able to briefly view information from other customers, including in some cases name, address, email, and phone number.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, chief executive of Klarna, called the “self-inflicted” incident “sad and frustrating” and has drawn the attention of data protection regulators.
Siemiatkowski has just returned from the UK, as Klarna continues to look to London as a possible place for its IPO, even if the US is still the favorite.
He insinuated in the Financial Times last month that if the UK changed the regulation, it could increase its appeal to Klarna. “Just as Brexit has happened, it gives London the opportunity to write even better regulations for the financial sector. This will benefit London which is outside the EU… People expected all banks to move away. [from the UK]; I think it’s the opposite, “he added.
In statements Thursday after SoftBank’s investment, Klarna’s chief executive continued his attack on the “revolving credit laden with interest and commissions” and announced the purchase now, the later payment as best suited to the needs of consumers.
Additional reports from Arash Massoudi in London
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