"It's been a long road for the 20-year-old fintech Klarna to make it to an IPO. But on Wednesday, the company successfully landed on the New York Stock Exchange, having raised $1.4 billion, largely for its existing investors, rather than itself. The fintech giant sold shares at $40, above its announced range of $35 to $37, and came out of the gate with a $15 billion valuation. Shares popped, opening at $52, though quickly settling down to around $46 mid-day."
"Of the 34.3 million shares Klarna sold, only 5 million were sold by the company, it said. The rest were sold by existing investors like the company's largest shareholder Sequoia Capital. Entities controlled by Dutch billionaire Anders Holch Povlsen, Silver Lake, BlackRock, and many others sold as well. Despite cashing out some shares, all of them are holding onto the majority of their stakes."
"In Klarna's case co-founder CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski did not sell any shares. His stake was worth $1.02 billion at the IPO selling price of $40 and he controls about 7.5% of the company. Victor Jacobsson, the co-founder who left the company in 2012, did sell but was, and still is, a slightly larger shareholder. He cashed out of 1.1 million shares and still retains over 8% of the company."
Klarna completed an NYSE IPO, selling 34.3 million shares and raising $1.4 billion, largely on behalf of existing investors. The company priced shares at $40, above the marketed range, implying a $15 billion valuation; shares opened at $52 before settling near $46 mid-day. Only 5 million shares were sold by Klarna; remaining shares were sold by Sequoia Capital and other early investors, including entities tied to Anders Holch Povlsen, Silver Lake, and BlackRock. Co-founder CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski did not sell and retained roughly 7.5% ownership valued over $1 billion. Other founders and early backers sold portions while retaining majority stakes.
Read at TechCrunch
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