The cooperation between him is entering new paths Public Group with the fintech company Klarna, the best-known European “unicorn” that has the so-called “top” of the services it offers “Buy Now, Pay Later” (pp “Buy now, pay later”) offering interest-free installments without even issuing a credit card.
Confirming the information he had posted early this morning newmoney, the Public interest group of the well-known businessman Mr. Panos Germanou recently announced that in addition to the commercial cooperation with Klarna, is now taking a stake in the company that started in Sweden as a start-up about 15 years ago to develop into the best-known case of a European fintech company.
Specifically through its investment arm, Public Capital Partners, participated in the new financing round of a total amount of 800 million euros that the fintech company “runs” without however specifying the exact amount of the investment or the equity stake he has received.
But in any case it becomes clear that the relationship between the two companies is now developing into a strategy, regardless of the efforts made by Klarna in the direction of expanding its partnerships in the Greek market, which it entered months ago.
Moreover, Public Group, which has already invested in start-ups, is also a target to expand its innovation ecosystem with the ultimate goal, as the announcement also states, “to offer unique experiences in the omnichannel retail market”.
Who is Klarna?
Klarna was founded in 2005 in Stockholm, Sweden, with the aim of making online shopping easier for consumers. The basic service it offers is the facilitation in the purchase of consumer products through three interest-free installments. In fact, the consumer does not even need to take out a credit card, while the company actually receives a commission from the retail businesses with which it cooperates.
Today it is considered the world’s leading payment and shopping service, providing smarter and more flexible shopping solutions to 147 million active consumers, to over 400,000 merchants in 45 countries. The number of its employees is around 6,000.
From this base that the company created in recent years it managed to get a huge boost and to considered the largest private technology company by valuation, exceeding 45 billion dollars! Which makes it the most recognizable European “unicorn” in the global ecosystem. Only in recent months and as the global investment public began to “pull” Funds, finally turning their attention more to the safety of profitability and not to investments and valuations of a company, the valuation of Klarna has been undermultiplied, falling to the levels of around 6, $5 billion. A valuation that resulted from the company’s last round of financing, forcing its management, under the weight of global developments, rising inflation and the cost of money, to make adjustments, including massive layoffs.
The mastermind behind Klarna is its founder, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, who, together with Adalberth and Victor Jacobsson, started the company in 2005, when they were attending a master’s program at the Stockholm School of Economics and while Siemiatowski was working as a griller at a well-known Burgers chain.
Read more:
Ministry of Finance: The new October electricity subsidies are a headache
Johnny, run, the port (of Ivan) is leaving, DELTA is being sold and faces are changing at ELTA
Theodosis Michalopoulos: Microsoft’s 30 “candles” and the start of construction of Data Centers
Tags: largest European unicorn investment Panos Germanos News Economy
-
