Klarna Confidentially Files Draft Registration Statement with US SEC in First Step Toward IPO

Klarna announced on 13 November 2024 that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form F-1 to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, placing the Swedish payments fintech on a formal regulatory path toward a public listing in the United States.

Confidential submissions to the SEC allow companies to initiate the regulatory review process without making their financial disclosures immediately public, giving management the flexibility to refine the prospectus, incorporate feedback from the regulator, and gauge institutional investor appetite before committing to a public filing.

VALUATION AND RESULTS

The company had reached a peak private valuation of approximately $45.6 billion in a 2021 fundraising round backed by SoftBank and a group of other investors. A subsequent 2022 fundraising round valued the company at approximately $6.7 billion, a decline of more than 85%.

The company operates in markets including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden, offering instalment payments to consumers at the point of sale.

Klarna recorded a loss of $244 million in 2023. The SEC registration process would require the company to disclose detailed financial statements and risk factors to the market as part of the listing.