Swedish payments group Klarna – a portfolio company of Chrysalis Investments (CHRY) – has completed its long-awaited US initial public offering (IPO), with its shares priced at US$40 each, above the US$35–37 indicative range. The listing raised $1.37bn and values the company at around $15.2bn. Demand was reportedly strong, with the offering said to be 26 times oversubscribed.
The IPO marks an important milestone for the 20-year-old fintech company, which is best known for pioneering “buy now, pay later” instalment loans. Klarna decided to pause its float earlier this year after tariff-driven volatility unsettled markets. However, its return comes as sentiment towards IPOs appears to be improving again.
Klarna’s valuation has been volatile, peaking around US$46bn in 2021 before falling to around US$7bn in 2022 as rising interest rates dented investor appetite for growth investments more generally, particularly loss-making start-ups, although the business was profitable until 2019 before its US expansion. Klarna’s management is seeking to diversify into broader digital banking, launching a debit card and interest-bearing loans, and has also hinted that it is looking at opportunities in cryptocurrency. Chief executive Sebastian Siemiatkowski described the IPO as a step towards building a full-service global fintech platform.
QuotedData comment from Matthew Read @9:00am : “As at 30 June, CHRY had cash of £143m or 15.4% of its assets. If it sold its entire stake in Klarna – there is no guarantee of this – that cash could have doubled. CHRY has to repay its £70m loan, which would bring cash back to about £210m, but this compares to a market cap of £618m. Clearly, a 30% discount makes no sense given this.”
Update
At 9:30am, Chrysalis published a statement that said it had opted not to sell any of its shares in the IPO. It holds 4.2m shares, which is $168m worth at the $40 IPO price. That equates to about £124.1m, which is £12.8m or about 2.5p per share less than the valuation in the end June NAV.
The blended purchase price for CHRY’s stake is $25.60. At $40, it has “made” 1.6x its money. However, all eyes will be on how Klarna trades over the next few weeks. A profit is not a profit until it is taken.
The statement says “The recommendation not to sell any Klarna shares by the investment adviser was made on the grounds of both Klarna’s expected future growth potential, and on near-term valuation, which it believes compares very favourably to listed peers. The investment adviser intends to monitor performance of Klarna in the aftermarket and will advise the company on its holding accordingly.”
The shareholder consultation that was announced in May 2025 is still underway. On this, the statement says: “The intention is to consult with as many shareholders as possible to determine their views to enable the board to propose any changes to a future capital allocation policy, if deemed appropriate. The company will provide an update in due course.”
