Klarna valuation cut to $6.7 billion in $800 million fundraise

Klarna, the Swedish fintech company, has raised $800 million in common equity at a $6.7 billion post-money valuation, the company announced on Monday. 

The backing comes from existing investors such as Sequoia, the founders, Bestseller, Silver Lake, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. Mubadala Investment Company and the Canadian Pension Plan have also made their first investments in Klarna.

After this round, Klarna is set to let smaller shareholders participate on a pro-rata basis in an ongoing process in the coming weeks. 

The company, which offers buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services, said in a blog post that it had not been immune to recent trends in the public markets. “The company’s peers are down 80-90% vs peak valuations and consequently the adjustment in Klarna’s valuation is on par with its public peers from its $45.6bn valuation in June 2021,” it said.  

“The shift in Klarna’s valuation is entirely due to investors suddenly voting in the opposite manner to the way they voted for the past few years,” added Sequoia partner, Michael Moritz.

“The irony is that Klarna’s business, its position in various markets and its popularity with consumers and merchants are all stronger than at any time since Sequoia first invested in 2010. Eventually, after investors emerge from their bunkers, the stocks of Klarna and other first-rate companies will receive the attention they deserve.”

In June, the Wall Street Journal reported that the valuation of Klarna Bank was set to plunge to $15 billion as it sought a $500 million fundraise. It had previously been valued at more than $45 billion. 

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