Fintech company Klarna may see a delay in plans for an IPO. The company’s CEO Sabastian Siemiatkowski made this reveal and the decision to delay plans for an IPO stems from fears of volatility in the stock market. The CEO confessed that the current market volatility makes him nervous and plans for an IPO have to be delayed. “The volatility in the market right now makes me nervous to IPO, to be honest. I think it would be nice to IPO when it’s a little bit more sound. And right now it doesn’t feel really sound out there”, CEO Sabastian Siemiatkowski said.
Klarna, known fully as Klarna Bank AB, is a Swedish fintech company that provides online financial services such as direct payments, post-purchase payments, and online storefronts. The fintech is known mostly for its buy-now-pay-later scheme which allows people to make purchases of goods and services and pay for them later. Klarna, founded by Sebastian Siemiatowski, Niklas Adalberth, and Victor Jacobson, has its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden. The company serves different areas and countries across Europe and has an approximated amount of 3000 employees with most of them working at the company’s headquarters.
Klarna currently holds the title of the most valued private fintech company in Europe. The company has thrived on its buy-now-pay-later services which provide users with the option of sharing payment for purchases into installment without charging interests.
Klarna’s CEO had earlier announced that the company’s IPO would happen soon as a result of some of the achievements that it had acquired. “It’s more likely to happen soon than it was a few years ago. But we have no immediate plans”, the CEO said.
Statistics show that Klarna is a formidable competitor in the payments and BNPL industry. A recent report from Worldpay showed that Klarna’s services accounted for 2.1 percent, the equivalent of about $97 billion, of the world’s e-commerce transactions in 2020 and this market share is expected to at least double by 2024.
In June, the company announced a funding round of $639 million which raised its valuation to $45.6 billion. The company’s biggest competitors include Australia’s AfterPay which is being acquired by Jack Dorsey’s Square.
While the company’s CEO has announced plans for an IPO, his latest statement buttresses that the company is in no rush.
Ibhadojemu Lucky Emmanuel is a graduate of Education and Economics from the University of Benin. He has a passion for tech and business and has been writing professionally for over a period of five years. He's written across various topics and segments and knew tech-business was it when he first stumbled on it. He has a great passion for music and arts, and wants to visit as many countries as he can someday.
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