Klarna Files Long-Awaited Plans for American IPO

Klarna has filed its long-awaited plans to go public in the U.S.

The Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) company on Wednesday (Nov. 13) announced it had “confidentially submitted” a draft registration statement for an initial public offering (IPO) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined,” Klarna said in its announcement. “The initial public offering is expected to take place after the SEC completes its review process, subject to market and other conditions.”

Late last month,  Chrysalis Investments increased the value of its stake in Klarna, giving the company an implied valuation of roughly $14.6 billion. Chrysalis did so after seeing the increasing share prices of other publicly-listed BNPL providers, such as PayPal and Affirm.

That new implied valuation is up from $6.7 billion at the time of a 2022 funding round, but still down considerably from $45.6 billion in a 2021 funding round. Chrysalis also said it believes the potential window for a Klarna IPO seems to be the first half of next year.

Klarna released half-year earnings in August showed revenues up 27% and its adjusted profits climbing to $66 million, versus an adjusted loss of $45 million during the same period last year.

“Klarna’s massive global network continues to expand rapidly, with millions of new consumers joining and 68,000 new merchant partners,” CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said at the time. “As our merchant partners grow, so do we, evidenced by 38% year-over-year growth in U.S. revenues.”

The company has said the U.S. is its largest market in terms of revenue. Klarna’s IPO plans come as BNPL options continue to grow in popularity in the U.S., as PYMNTS Intelligence research has shown.

Headed into the autumn, 26% of consumers who live paycheck to paycheck and have difficulty paying their bills said they planned to use BNPL in the next 12 months, compared to just 10% of people who do not live paycheck to paycheck.

Meanwhile, the BNPL industry has been facing increasing oversight from regulators such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. But as noted here last week, that agency’s efforts could be shaken up by the arrival of a new presidential administration in Washington.