Report: Klarna Gauging Investor Interest in Secondary Share Sale

Klarna is reportedly gauging investors’ interest in buying up the company’s existing shares on the secondary market.

The Sweden-based FinTech is doing so as it prepares for a potential public listing in the United States, Bloomberg reported Tuesday (Aug. 6), citing an unnamed source.

Reached by PYMNTS, Klarna declined to comment on the report.

A secondary share sale could help the company improve its valuation ahead of the public listing and could allow it to offer investors and early employees more liquidity in the time before that listing, according to the report.

It was reported in July that Klarna was weighing financial advisers for its U.S. initial public offering and that the company could list in the first half of 2025.

Sebastian Siemiatkowski, co-founder and CEO of Klarna, said in 2023 that the company was primed to go public, thanks to a sustainable business model and room for growth, but was holding out for stronger market conditions.

As of July, Klarna and its advisers were confident that the IPO market would stage a comeback in 2025, the Financial Times reported July 16.

Klarna reported in May that it saw a 29% increase in total revenue in the first quarter, up from the 13% rise it saw in the same quarter a year earlier.

The company said this surge was driven by its growing presence in the U.S., where its total revenue increased by 38% year over year.

During the quarter, Klarna reduced its operating expenses by 11% and attributed this to efficiencies delivered by its deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

“With several new products set to launch in the coming months, we’re preparing for a truly exciting year ahead,” Siemiatkowski said at the time.

In June, the company sold its online checkout solution, Klarna Checkout, for $520 million to a group of investors who will assume ownership of the solution on Oct. 1.

Klarna said selling Klarna Checkout will let it concentrate on its flexible payment methods, which it offers with multiple service providers.

In July, the company partnered with Adobe to enable Adobe Commerce merchants to offer their customers Klarna’s buy now, pay later services and other flexible payment options.