Klarna sells checkout business to investor consortium
Klarna has finalised a deal to sell its online checkout service, Klarna Checkout (KCO), to a consortium of investors led by Kamjar Hajabdolahi, CEO and founding partner of Stockholm-based venture capital firm BLQ Invest.
Klarna sells checkout business
Also involved in the consortium are Systematic Growth founder Ashkan Pouya and Martin Randel, co-founder and board member of vitamin drink company Vitamin Well AB.
According to sources at Swedish media outlet Breakit, the consortium will pay SEK 5.4 billion ($515 million) for the business unit, including “SEK 2 billion for the business itself and approximately SEK 3.4 billion in a revenue-sharing agreement”.
Klarna claims to have selected the consortium after “more than a year engaging with dozens of the most prominent private equity and potential strategic buyers”.
The consortium will assume ownership of KCO on 1 October. Klarna says that both parties are focused on a “smooth transition” and “will continue to work together under a distribution partner agreement”, meaning that Klarna’s payment methods “will continue to be offered in the checkout”.
‘Dedicated management’
The Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm describes KCO, which debuted in Northern Europe in 2012, as a “complete payment solution where Klarna handles your store’s entire checkout”.
Connecting consumers to a range of flexible payment options, Klarna claims the service currently maintains a 40% market share in Sweden and over 20% across the Nordics.
The firm says that it has “over the past few years” focused more on offering flexible payment methods “in conjunction with multiple service providers”.
With this, Bloomberg reports that the sale removes any potential friction in how Klarna distributes its payment methods through payment service providers like Stripe and Adyen.
Klarna adds that the deal will enable it to concentrate on its offering “while ensuring that the KCO business continues to grow under new dedicated management”.
“Klarna Checkout is very dear to me, and the impact it’s had on Klarna’s journey is immense,” comments Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO and co-founder of Klarna.
Hajabdolahi adds that the consortium intends to “build on the solid foundation established by Klarna” to “take KCO to the next level”.
