It has been a long way from 20-year-old Fintech Kralna reaching the IPO. However, on Wednesday, the company successfully completed the New York Stock Exchange, raising $1.4 billion, primarily from existing investors themselves.
The Fintech giant sold its shares at $40, above the $35-$37 range, and came out of the gate at a valuation of $15 billion. The shares opened for $52, but soon settled at around $46 in the daytime.
Of the 34.3 million shares sold by Klarna, only 5 million shares were sold by the company, he said. The rest was sold by existing investors, such as the company’s largest shareholder Sequoia capital. entities managed by Dutch billionaires Anders Holch Poblsen, Silver Lake and BlackRock were also on sale. Despite cashing out some shares, they all retain a large portion of their interests.
The same was done with Figma’s IPO. However, in many cases, these existing investors don’t want to sell at IPO prices, the VC told TechCrunch. They kick stocks to help the company meet the demand for IPOs. More stocks with more floating stocks helps you get more accurate and perhaps higher ratings from the gate, as it helps you attract the largest institutional investors who don’t bother you because of small allocations.
In Klarna’s case, co-founder CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski did not sell the shares. His interest is worth $1.02 billion at an IPO selling price of $40, and he manages about 7.5% of the company.
Co-founder Victor Jacobson, who resigned from the company in 2012, sold, but still remained a slightly larger shareholder. He cashed out of 1.1 million shares and still holds more than 8% of the company.
Klarna discloses that co-founder Niklas Adalberth still owns just under 3 million shares.
Sequoia is Klarna’s biggest investor and controls almost 23% of the company. Famous VC Michael Moritz wrote Kralna’s first check on behalf of Sequoia in 2010, and remained as Clarna’s chairman after leaving Sequoia in 2023. But when Sequoia’s Andrew Reid joined the board in 2024, it was finally sorted out.
“This moment feels surreal,” Siemiatkowski shared in a published statement. “When I started Klarna in 2005, it was just a wild idea. Me, Niklas and Victor are trying to make shopping and paying more smoothly for people.
He continued, “To be published in New York is huge. It’s not just a milestone. It’s a statement. It’s proof that Stockholm’s stubborn dreamer can take on the world and win.”
Interestingly, $1.4 billion is not the record for the biggest IPO of 2025. This is still held by CoreWeave, which raised $1.5 billion in June.
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