Klarna Bank AB is pleased to announce that an investment partnership advised by Permira will acquire a strategic equity stake in the company.
Klarna is one of Europe's largest and fastest growing banks, providing easy to use payment solutions and currently serving 60 million consumers and 70.000 merchants. Permira is a global investment firm which advises funds and accounts with a total committed capital of circa €32 billion. Permira focuses on identifying companies for long-term investment, combining local knowledge and global expertise to help them grow sustainably and realise their full potential.
The investment partnership will acquire shares from existing shareholders General Atlantic, DST Global and Niklas Adalberth, upon receipt of approval from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority (Finansinspektionen). As a consequence of this transfer, General Atlantic and DST Global will cease to be shareholders in the company, while Niklas Adalberth will retain an equity stake. The investment partnership will become a qualified owner of Klarna.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna: "As Klarna continues its journey towards a smoother shopping experience and now as a consumer-oriented and technology intensive bank, this is another exciting step for the company. I am delighted to have a partner like Permira on board with their global footprint and strong expertise in ecommerce and fintech. I look forward to them strategically supporting the future development of Klarna."
Andrew Young, Principal at Permira: “In Klarna we see a unique scale fintech innovator that has successfully improved shopping experiences for both merchants and consumers. We see many vectors that will drive future success and with Sebastian, we look forward to supporting the company’s future organic, geographic, and acquisition growth strategies.”
Ola Nordquist, partner and head of the Nordics at Permira: “Klarna is a truly innovative, founder-led iconic Swedish business and we are pleased to back the company and its management team to advance its leadership position both locally and internationally.”
This investment comes as Klarna has continued to record strong growth in the first half of this year. This is building on the 50% increase in recorded transaction volumes in 2016, in part driven by 17,000 new merchants partnering with Klarna in the last year. Klarna received a full banking licence from the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority in June 2017.