Swedish BNPL giant Klarna has formally applied with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list its ordinary shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol 'KLAR'.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley are acting as joint book-running managers; BofA Securities, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank Securities, Societe generale and UBS Investment Bank will act as bookrunners; and BNP Paribas, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, A Stifel Company, Nordea Bank Abp, Rothschild & Co, Wedbush Securities and Wolfe | Nomura Alliance will act as co-managers for the proposed offering.
Key figures from the prospectus include:
* $105B in GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume)
* $2.8B in annual revenue
* $21M in net profit - first profitable year
* 93M active consumers globally
* 675K merchants on the platform
The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined, but market watchers are expecting a raise in the region of $1 billion with a market valuation of $15 billion.
This is more than double the $6.7 billion price tag Klarna secured in a 2022 funding round amid a wider tech rout. However, it is still way down on the peak 2021 value of $46 billion.
Nalin Patel, PitchBook’s director of Emea Private Capital Research, believes Klarna's debutt will test investor appetite for fintech companies.
"The company's return to profitability and revenue growth are positive signs; however, the decreased valuation compared to its 2021 peak reflects a more cautious view of venture capital (VC) valuations in the current economic climate," he comments. "Klarna’s success could impact market sentiment facing additional fintech companies evaluating an exit and public listings in general.”
Klarna's ambitions to grow in the US have received a major boost with the capture of Walmart's business from US rival Affirm. Klarna will be integrated with Walmart's fintech startup OnePay to make underwriting decisions for loans ranging from three months to 36 months in length, and with annual interest rates from 10% to 36%.
"This is a game changer,” says Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO, Klarna. “Millions of people in the U.S. shop at Walmart every day — and now they can shop smarter with OnePay installment loans powered by Klarna. OnePay choosing Klarna as their exclusive installment loans partner at Walmart in the US is a huge vote of confidence as we pursue our goal of being available everywhere for everything. We look forward to helping redefine checkout at the world’s largest retailer — both online and in stores.”