Klarna, the “buy now, pay later” company, is preparing to take its business public with a new attempt to float in New York this autumn. The company is reportedly targeting an initial public offering (IPO) in either September or October, provided that market conditions are favourable for the move.
In a memo to investors, Klarna’s finance chief, Niclas Neglen, confirmed that the company’s intention to go public remains firm. This follows a previous attempt to list that was aborted in 2022 due to significant instability in the global financial markets. Klarna experienced a difficult period at that time when its valuation plummeted from a high of $46 billion down to just $6.7 billion. The company has since managed to recover its standing and is now focusing on a rebrand as a digital bank.
The decision to list in the United States is seen as a significant disappointment for the London Stock Exchange, which had been actively trying to persuade the Swedish company to float in the UK. Klarna recently received authorisation in the UK to operate as an Electronic Money Institution, which has enabled it to offer cashback services to its 11 million British customers. The company is hoping that a successful IPO will provide a major boost to its growth and expansion plans.
