Report: Klarna Board in Conflict Over Golden Shares Ahead of IPO

Swedish buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider Klarna is reportedly experiencing a boardroom conflict as it prepares for its initial public offering (IPO).

The company’s board is considering removing board member Mikael Walther, who is an eight-year member of the board and a confidante of founding partner Victor Jacobsson, the Financial Times (FT) reported Tuesday (Aug. 27), citing unnamed sources.

The conflict centers on whether Klarna should issue golden shares before its IPO, one of the sources said, according to the report.

A decision could be reached at a board meeting scheduled for Wednesday (Aug. 28), per the report.

Reached by PYMNTS, Klarna declined to comment on the report.

The conflict over this potential ouster comes about six months after an attempt to remove Michael Moritz, an ally of Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski, from his role as chair of the board resulted in Sequoia Capital’s board representative, Matthew Miller, being replaced by another Sequoia partner, Andrew Reed, according to the report.

That conflict in February resulted from some shareholders having greater influence on Klarna’s decision-making because of their historic voting rights, the report said.

It was reported Aug. 14 that Klarna was ready to tap Goldman Sachs to help it go public next year and that the company is said to be seeking a valuation of around $20 billion when it goes public.

Spokespeople for both Klarna and Goldman Sachs declined to comment when reached by PYMNTS at the time of that report.

Tuesday’s report of board conflict comes on the same day that Klarna released half-year earnings. The company said Tuesday that its revenues increased 27%, while adjusted profits increased to $66 million, compared to an adjusted loss of $45 million in the same period in 2023.

“Klarna’s massive global network continues to expand rapidly, with millions of new consumers joining and 68,000 new merchant partners,” Siemiatkowski said in a press release. “As our merchant partners grow, so do we, evidenced by 38% year-over-year growth in U.S. revenues. By focusing on sustainable, profitable growth and leveraging AI to lower costs, we achieved adjusted operating income of [$66 million] as we build the commerce network of the next generation.”