Klarna Raises $460 Million Through New Equity Round to Further Support U.S. Growth

Payment processing platform Klarna announced on Tuesday it secured $460 million through its latest equity funding round, bring its post-money valuation to $5.5 billion. The round was led by Dragoneer Investment Group, a San Francisco based growth-oriented investor. Other investors in the round include Commonwealth Bank of Australia, HMI Capital LLC, Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited, Första AP-Fonden (AP1), IPGL, IVP and funds and accounts managed by BlackRock. This funding will help Klarna to continue its rapid rise in the US market, where it is currently growing at an annual rate of six million new U.S. consumers.

“The uniqueness of Klarna’s consumer offering, providing a healthier, simpler and smarter alternative to credit cards, with the addition of multiple services to smoothen the shopping experience, online and offline, is clearly resonating with the US consumer. This is as consumers are turning away from revolving credit lines towards alternative and more flexible financing alternatives. Most importantly, Klarna’s recently launched shopping app which allows its users to shop with Klarna at any store or brand online has been received very positively, with now more than 50% of the app users purchasing each week.”

Klarna also noted it has seen a surge in merchant demand for its services and it is now powering over 3000 merchants in the US – including rue21, ASOS, Lulus, Toms, Superdry, Sonos and Acne Studios. Speaking about the investment round, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, stated:

“This is a decisive time in the history of retail banking. Finally, transparency, technology and creativity will serve the consumer, and there will be no more room for unimaginative products, non-transparent terms of use or lack of genuine care of ones customers. We, all 2500 of us at Klarna, are humbled and honoured, and now also further empowered, to play a role in this improvement of an industry for the benefit of the consumer, worldwide and in the US in particular.”

Marc Stad, Founding Partner at Dragoneer, added:

“Our strategy is to partner with a small number of disruptive, growth companies that are highly differentiated and run by world-class management teams. Sebastian and the Klarna team have built an exceptional payments business with a global footprint, operating in a huge addressable market with strong tailwinds.”



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