(Bloomberg) — Swedish payments firm Klarna Bank AB is looking to raise less capital than earlier planned and at a much lower valuation of $15 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported citing people familiar with the matter.
The Stockholm-based company is currently in talks with investors about fresh funds totaling at least $500 million, which is about half its earlier ambition to raise up to $1 billion, according to the newspaper.
The deal would value the buy-now-pay-later provider at about $15 billion, the people said, considerably lower than both the $46 billion valuation quoted in a financing round 12 months ago and the $30 billion mark discussed in May.
Klarna, billed as Europe’s most valuable startup in 2021, has seen its fortunes dramatically change amid a tougher climate for privately-held tech companies, sparked by soaring inflation and tighter monetary policy. Last month, the Swedish company announced it was laying off about 10% of its employees in an effort to cut costs.
A Klarna spokesperson told Bloomberg News that the company would not comment on fundraising or valuation speculation.
(Adds Klarna’s decline to comment)
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