Investment firm Permira invested an amount reportedly sized between $225m and $250m in Klarna a Sweden-based payment services provider backed by payment processing service Visa, on Friday.
TechCrunch reported that Permira acquired a 10% stake in return for more than $225m, while the Financial Times has put the figure at approximately $250m.
Investment firm DST Global and venture capital firm General Atlantic sold all their shares as part of the transaction, while Klarna founder Niklas Adalberth also sold part of his shareholding. The deal is subject to regulatory approval by Finansinspektionen, the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.
Founded in 2005 as Kreditor, Klarna has developed an online platform that enables e-commerce businesses and retailers to offer a range of payment options to consumers, from direct payments and pay on delivery to instalment plans.
The service is currently used by some 70,000 merchants, covering some 60 million consumers. Klarna secured a banking licence last month, though it has not revealed any new features it plans to introduce.
DST, General Atlantic and Niklas Adalberth had previously sold shares to fashion holding firm Brightfolk, which bought a stake of at least 10% for an unspecified amount in June 2017. Visa invested an undisclosed amount later the same month.
General Atlantic and DST Global had most recently invested in Klarna in 2011, when they co-led a $155m round. Its other backers include Creandum, which supplied $5.2m in March 2017, as well as Northzone and Wellcome Trust, which supplied $80m at a $2.25bn valuation in 2015.
General Atlantic, Sequoia Capital and Atomico injected €90m ($105m) in 2014 to facilitate Klarna’s acquisition of payment processing platform Sofort. Sequoia had earlier led a $9m round in 2010, following an investment of undisclosed size from Investment AB Öresund in 2007.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, said: “As Klarna continues its journey towards a smoother shopping experience and now as a consumer-oriented and technology intensive bank, this is another exciting step for the company.
“I am delighted to have a partner like Permira on board with their global footprint and strong expertise in ecommerce and fintech. I look forward to them strategically supporting the future development of Klarna.”