EMEA Daily: L’Oréal eCommerce Growth Sparks 2021 Sales Spike; Delivery Hero Sees Record Decline Amid Gloomy Outlook

In today’s top Europe, Middle East and Africa news, L’Oréal singled out its eCommerce growth of 25.7% as key to its strong 2021; and Germany’s Delivery Hero fell more than 31%, its largest decline ever.

Plus, Europe’s online car retailer, Cazoo, announced that it sold a stake of the company for $630 million; Vitesse, the U.K.-based FinTech, secured $26 million in Series B funding; and Swedish BNPL firm Klarna is considering a new funding round that would make it the most valuable startup in Europe.

L’Oréal eCommerce Growth Sparks 2021 Sales Spike

L’Oréal singled out its eCommerce growth of 25.7% as one of the driving forces behind its successful 2021, which was marked by an overall 16.1% increase in sales, twice the industry standard, according to the company, to €32.28 billion ($36.82 billion).

L’Oréal’s eCommerce growth accounted for 28.9% of the company’s overall 2021 sales, according to its earnings report released Wednesday (Feb. 9).

Delivery Hero Sees Record Decline Amid Gloomy Outlook

Shares of Germany’s Delivery Hero fell more than 31% — its largest decline ever — after the food delivery service published projections for the year that were seen as underwhelming.

Bloomberg News reported Thursday (Feb. 10), shares were temporarily halted for the company, with the drop wiping out more than $4.6 billion in value.

Online Car Retailer Cazoo To Generate $2B+ Revenue In 2022 From Expanding Europe Operations

Europe’s leading online car retailer, Cazoo, announced Thursday (Feb. 10) that it had sold a stake of the company to a group of investors for $630 million, nearly six months after the firm listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

The additional funds, which boost the firm’s current cash balance to nearly $900 million, have been earmarked for the company’s ongoing expansion efforts across the United Kingdom and Europe.

Kenya’s Central Bank Paper Lists CBDC Risks, Invites Public Comment

On Thursday (Feb. 10) the central bank of Kenya, an early adopter of alternative finance, said it will ask the public about how it views central bank digital currencies (CBDCs).

In a discussion paper released by the bank, the bank said that it “invites the public, industry and stakeholders to review this discussion paper on CBDC and provide feedback and ideas to be considered when assessing the use case for CBDC in Kenya.” Comments can be submitted until May 20.

InsurTech Firm Vitesse Closes on $26M in Series B Funding

Vitesse, the U.K.-based FinTech, secured $26 million in Series B funding, the company announced Thursday (Feb. 10).

This latest round will enable the global payment, liquidity and treasury management platform to connect with the growing digitization of the insurance sector across Europe and in the United States, the company said.

Stripe and Celonis Focus on Simplification in Tech Partnership

Execution management and process mining company Celonis and payment service provider Stripe on Wednesday (Feb. 9) agreed to deploy each other’s technology “to drive simplification and value for their customers,” according to the joint announcement.

Celonis’ Execution Management System will help Stripe improve its user onboarding processes to make it faster and more efficient for Stripe customers to access the global online economy, the announcement said.

New Funding Could Value Klarna at $60B

Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) firm Klarna is considering a new funding round that would make it the most valuable startup in Europe, with a valuation of $50 billion to $60 billion.

That’s according to a report from Bloomberg News on Thursday (Feb. 10), citing people familiar with the matter. These sources say Klarna is likely to tap sovereign wealth and pension funds as new investors. The $50 billion figure is based on preliminary estimates.

Germany’s Ada Health Series B Ends at $120M

Digital health company Ada Health has raised $30 million as part of an extension of its Series B round from last year, bringing the total funding to $120 million.

The Berlin-based company announced the news on its website Thursday (Feb. 10), saying the funding would let it accelerate its growth and strengthen its foothold in the U.S. Ada has spoken in the past about becoming the world’s leading personalized operating system for health.

Global Regulator Mulls Cryptocurrency Framework

An international organization that monitors the global financial system is examining how to regulate cryptocurrency.

The Switzerland-based Financial Stability Board could devise the first global framework for cryptoassets, including bitcoin and stablecoins, a source told Reuters.

Digital Shift Boosts Payments Group Adyen’s Transaction Volumes 70%

Dutch payments group Adyen saw a 70% growth in transactions last year, according to a Wednesday (Feb. 9) report from the Financial Times.

The numbers were reportedly boosted by the pandemic-spurred digital shift. Adyen acts as a middleman of sorts, working between other payment companies and merchants, including Uber, LinkedIn, Spotify and Microsoft.