Sweden-based online payments service Klarna secured $155m in series C financing today from investors including DST Global, the investment group backed by Russia-based internet company Digital Sky Technologies.
Additionally, DST, which has been a significant investor in Facebook, Zynga and Groupon, counts China-based internet service provider Tencent as a backer. Tencent invested $300m in DST Global, in April 2010, in return for a 10% stake. Media group Naspers acquired a reported 28% stake in parent company Digital Sky three months later, paying $388m through its subsidiary, Myriad Investment Holdings.
The round included venture capital firm Sequoia Capital and private equity firm General Atlantic. Sequoia led a series B round in April last year, investing $9m according to online finance data site Crunchbase.
The first significant investor in Klarna was Sweden-based investment firm Investment AB Öresund, which funded its series A round in 2007. Crunchbase puts the investment at $2.2m.
Founded in 2005 as Kreditor before changing its name in 2009, Klarna provides an online payments service to e-commerce companies across Europe which involves Klarna taking on credit risk on behalf of the seller, enabling customers to receive goods they have ordered before payment is due.
Klarna’s services are currently used by more than 14,000 online sellers, and is planning to use the capital to expand further into new territories, increase its presence in existing markets and hire additional staff.
Klarna chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski said: “The added support of these world class investors to our current partners will enable us to spread Klarna to more countries and more people, and is an essential step in reaching our ‘zero friction vision’ for buying online.”