Klarna Bank, the Swedish buy-now-pay-later service provider, is reportedly advancing with plans for a potential U.S. stock market debut, Bloomberg News reported Wednesday.
According to the report, the Stockholm-based company has initiated detailed discussions with investment banks regarding an initial public offering (IPO) that could be slated as early as the third quarter.
The discussions hint at Klarna eyeing a valuation in the vicinity of $20 billion.
However, the details of a potential listing including the timing and final valuation could still change, Bloomberg states.
This move towards a U.S. listing marks a notable shift for Klarna, which has navigated through a challenging period marked by internal discord among investors and a drastic valuation decrease from $45.6 billion in 2021 to $6.7 billion the following year.
This period of instability coincided with a broader industry reassessment of online lending platforms, prompted by high interest rates.
Klarna's CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, indicated in a January interview with BNN Bloomberg that a U.S. IPO was imminent, citing the U.S. as Klarna's largest market in terms of revenue and customer base, with over 37 million customers.
This comes as Klarna recently reported its first profitable quarter after nearly four years of losses, maintaining profitability in the U.S. for four quarters consecutively.
In the meantime, there were also speculations of a UK or Swedish listing. In November, the fintech firm set up a new UK holding company in the UK, a move that was perceived as groundwork for a future IPO.