Klarna, a Swedish e-commerce company that provides payment services for online storefronts, has recently announced an investment partnership advised by Permira which will acquire a strategic equity stake in the company.
The private equity group has bought a 10 per cent stake in Klarna worth roughly $250m and entered the fintech sector for the first time. As part of the deal, two previous investors, General Atlantic and DST Global, have sold their stakes in the bank and exited the business completely.
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.
About Klarna
Klarna is now one of Europe’s largest banks, providing easy to use payment solutions for 60 million consumers and 70.000 merchants and working seamlessly across borders. Klarna is today active in 18 markets with more than 1500 employees. The company was founded in Sweden 2005 with the goal to make online payments safe, simple and smooth. Klarna offers direct payments, pay after delivery options and instalment plans in a smooth one-click purchase experience that lets consumers pay when and how they prefer to. When the company acquired SOFORT in 2014 the Klarna Group was formed. Klarna is backed by investors such as Sequoia Capital, Bestseller Group, Atomico and now Permira.
About Permira
Permira is a global investment firm that finds and backs successful businesses with ambition. Founded in 1985, the firm advises funds and accounts with a total committed capital of approximately €32 billion. The Permira funds make long-term investments in companies with the ambition of transforming their performance and driving sustainable growth.
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