Swedish Bank Klarna Might Go Public By Direct Listing Like Spotify: Reuters

Swedish bank Klarna may go public via higher private funding, bypassing the expensive IPO procedure akin to Spotify Technology SA (NYSE: SPOT), Reuters reports.
The “buy now, pay later” firm completed a $650 million funding round in September from an investor group led by Silver Lake that valued it at $11 billion.
The company is on the verge of finalization another private funding round to raise at least $500 million.
Klarna was rumored to go public via an IPO or a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger. However, the SPAC merger option was ruled out by the company.
Klarna is waiting for the appointment of Niclas Neglen to commence the procedure.
A 2022 listing is likely, while the possibility of 2021 has not been ruled out.
Klarna is geared to report an over 40% jump in the annual transaction value to over $50 billion from higher online activities amidst the pandemic, the Reuters reports.
Peers Affirm Holdings Inc(NASDAQ: AFRM), QuadPay, and Afterpay Ltd(OTC: AFTPF), reported gross merchandise volume (GMV) of $35 billion in 2019.
Klarna’s heavy investment in the U.S. has led to 15 million current users, which could topple Germany from the numero uno position. The company is exploring other regions as well and entered four new markets last year. It intends to add five new markets by summer.
The company collaborated with bitcoin exchange Safello last week to tap the cryptocurrency boom. However, the company considers it a speculative investment that could prove risky for its customers.

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