The deal is done, Kustom is here. A consortium led by the entrepreneur Kamjar Hajabdolahi has bought Klarna’s checkout solution, Klarna Checkout, in a deal largely financed by newly printed bonds with a value of around SEK 1.7 billion (€150m).
With 24,000 e-retailers and an annual transaction volume of over SEK 150 billion (€13.2b) Kustom is now establishing itself as the leading digital checkout solution in the Nordic market. The company will also be one of Europe’s largest digital checkout solutions.
“Within three to six months, we will launch a new service that will offer more and better options for payment and shipping,” Jesper Eriksson, sales manager at Kustom and former head of Sweden at Klarna, told Dagens Industri.
The new company has signed a strategic agreement with the payment giant Stripe, whose infrastructure the checkout solution will be based on. Klarna is not involved in Kustom, but ties to Klarna remain strong and a cooperation agreement has been signed, meaning that Klarna remains a cornerstone of the offering.
Initially, shoppers paid around SEK 2 billion (€175.2m). There is also a revenue-sharing agreement. Klarna Checkout, launched in 2012, underpinned Klarna’s original business model and has 40 percent market share in Sweden. The company has since expanded to offer other payment solutions and acquired payment competitors.
So why did Klarna sell its checkout solution? For years, the company has increasingly focused and invested in developing Klarna as a payment method, which has led to a reduced focus on innovation related to the checkout platform. In addition, Klarna has deepened its partnerships with other payment service providers (PSPs) and no longer sees the need to own and maintain the checkout infrastructure.
As Klarna explained: “The divestment will enable the Checkout platform to reach its full potential, while Kustom will serve as a payment provider and distribution partner for Klarna. The buyer will focus solely on Checkout and its merchants, allowing Klarna to concentrate on our core business.”
