Klarna CEO Teases US IPO

Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said the Swedish FinTech company is considering an initial public offering (IPO) in the United States. 

It is “very likely” that Klarna will launch a stock market listing in the U.S., although no official dates have been confirmed, Siemiatkowski told BNN Bloomberg, per a Tuesday (Jan. 23) report by Bloomberg. 

Siemiatkowski emphasized that the U.S. is Klarna’s largest market by revenue, making it a natural choice for an IPO, according to the report. He also noted that the U.S. investor base has a better understanding of FinTech and tech companies, which could potentially lead to a more successful listing. 

While the United Kingdom and Sweden, Klarna’s home market, are also potential options for an IPO, Siemiatkowski expressed less enthusiasm about these markets, the report said. He mentioned that they are relatively small compared to the U.S. market and may not offer the same level of investor interest. 

Klarna’s valuation took a hit last year, dropping from approximately $45.6 billion to $6.7 billion as investors grew concerned about the potential effects of rising interest rates, per the report. 

However, the company’s valuation rebounded to $7.85 billion in December, accompanied by its first quarterly operating profit in four years, the report said. 

When announcing that profitable quarter in November, Klarna attributed it in part to rising buy now, pay later (BNPL) use among Americans. 

“With a profitable quarter and continuous double-digit growth, we have achieved exactly what we set out to do,” Siemiatkowski said at the time. “This fantastic success sets us up for the busiest shopping period where our AI [artificial intelligence]-powered products will help consumers make their money go further, find the best deals and get inspired.” 

In another recent move, Klarna said in December that it teamed with B2B car rental solutions company CarTrawler to let travelers use Klarna’s BNPL offering to pay for car rentals when booking on more than 70 airlines and 250-plus travel sites. 

During that same month, Airbnb launched its Pay Over Time with Klarna option in the United Kingdom. That was the latest step in Airbnb’s phased global rollout of this alternative payment method.