Swedish payment solution provider Klarna has finalized their purchase of their German based rival SOFORT.
The Acquisition was announced today, December 18th 2013, for the amount of €150 million.
The 2 entities will continue to work independently from one another. Together they have over 25 million registered users and hold 10% of the Northern European market, and will be processing over $10 billion a year.
Klarna paid more than half the amount in cash to SOFORT with the assistance of shareholders Sequoia Capital and General Atlantic. The new venture will allow Klarna to expand their presence in European countries like the UK, Italy, France, Spain, and Poland. Klarna CEO and Co-founder Sebastian Siemiatkowski, did mention there are no current intentions on entering the US market, however he finds the idea “exciting”.
“We are delighted to be given the opportunity to work together with the exceptional team at SOFORT. Together we have an incredible opportunity to provide the most trusted payment solution to our merchants and make it simpler and safer for consumers to shop online.” Siemiatkowski added.
“SOFORT and Klarna supplement each other in our service offerings as well as in our growth ambitions. Together we are providing online merchants the opportunity to offer both popular payment methods out of one hand in Germany and to develop further product innovations,” Dr. Gerrit Seidel, CEO of SOFORT.
Klarna was established in 2005, with the premise of offering simpler and safer payment solutions. They offer pay-by-invoice solutions and risk monitoring and assessment services. Klarna serves over 18,000 online shops in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands.
SOFORT offers innovative products for secure Payments of merchandise and digital goods for online stores. SOFORT provides its services to over 25,000 merchants and processes over 2.5 million transactions a month. The company offers support to Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, France, the Netherlands, the UK, Italy, Spain and Poland.
