Klarna seeks new raise at lesser valuation

According to people familiar with the subject, Klarna Bank is looking to raise new capital that might value the fintech powerhouse at about a third less than the roughly $46 billion valuation it achieved just under a year ago, illustrating the difficulties facing the digital investing industry.

Klarna specialises in buy-now-pay-later services, which compete with credit cards by allowing users to pay for goods and services in instalments without paying interest. Klarna makes money by charging a charge to merchants who use its services.

In June, SoftBank Group’s Vision Fund 2 spearheaded a $45.6 billion investment in Klarna, making it Europe’s most valuable financial technology business.

According to the sources, the payments startup located in Sweden is looking to raise up to $1 billion from new and existing investors in a deal that might value it at about $30 billion when the money is released. That would be a 30 percent decrease from the last round.