May 05, 2012 12:10 BST invests in Klarna

Sequoia Capital is investing in Klarna AB ("Klarna"), one of the Nordic region’s leading e-commerce payment solution providers, and will become Klarna’s largest single owner. Sven Hagströmer, Chairman of Investment AB Öresund ("Öresund"), has been named Chairman of the Board of Klarna, and Michael Moritz, Partner at Sequoia Capital, has been made a member of the board.

During his tenure at Sequoia Capital, Mr Moritz has invested in companies such as , Yahoo and PayPal and has served on the boards of these companies. - Sequoia Capital has extensive expertise and many years’ experience in investing in and developing promising growth companies operating in industries that are exciting for successful global companies. We are now stepping up the pace of our international expansion, first in Europe and then globally, said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO of Klarna and previous CEO of Kreditor.

Sequoia Capital’s previous investments include PayPal, Google and YouTube. E-commerce in Europe is growing rapidly, and Sequoia Capital sees great potential in Klarna.

- Klarna has done a fabulous job serving the needs of merchants and consumers in Europe’s e-commerce market, said Michael Moritz, Partner at Sequoia Capital. With e-commerce growing rapidly across the E.U., where card based payments are only 1/3 that of the U.S., Klarna has an incredible opportunity to be the most trusted solution in the $40 billion global payments market.

Klarna will also do a directed new share issue of SEK 70m in conjunction with the change of ownership. The purpose of the issue is to finance Klarna’s increased rate of expansion. The three founders – Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Victor Jacobsson and Niklas Adalberth – will remain as joint majority owners. Sequoia Capital will be Klarna’s largest single owner and Öresund will be the second largest owner. The remaining shares are owned by prior investors and employees; around 50% of employees invested in the company in conjunction with the new share issue.

The deal with Sequoia Capital is contingent upon approval by the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority.

Sven Hagströmer, Chairman of the Board of Öresund, will replace Peter Sjunnesson to become Chairman of Klarna’s Board of Directors. The new board will be comprised of Sven Hagströmer, Chairman of the Board of Öresund; Michael Moritz, Partner at Sequoia Capital; Erik Törnberg, head of investments at Öresund; Eva Cederbalk, CEO of SBAB; and Klarna’s three founders: Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Victor Jacobsson and Niklas Adalberth.

- Klarna is extremely successful and I’m looking forward to taking over as Chairman of the Board and participating in the company’s continued expansion, said Sven Hagströmer, Klarna’s new Chairman of the Board. My chairmanship is part of Öresund’s long-term investment in Klarna.

Klarna offers innovative payment solutions to e-commerce shops in the Nordic region and Germany, solutions that meet the challenges posed by e- commerce. Klarna’s payment solutions reduce risk for consumers, who pay for the products they order online via invoice only after the product has been delivered. Klarna’s payment solutions increase sales for e-commerce retailers, since security for consumers leads to both more and larger purchases.

The Glimstedt law firm served as legal advisor in the transaction.

Klarna offers safe and easy-to-use payment solutions to e-stores in Europe and was founded in 2005 with the ambition to make e-commerce safer and simpler. At the core of Klarna’s services is the concept of after delivery payment, which lets buyers receive ordered goods before any payment is due. At the same time, Klarna assumes all credit and fraud risk for e-stores so that sellers can rest assured that they will always receive their money. Klarna’s vision is to enable trust and to offer a frictionless buying experience to buyers and sellers across the world. Today, Klarna’s payment solutions are integrated by more than 15,000 online shops in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.

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