Sofort

Transaction Summary

On 5 March 2014, Klarna AB and its shareholders (“Klarna”) closed the acquisition of Sofort AG (“Sofort”).

This strategic acquisition enables Klarna to gain access to a complementary payment method as well as to a substantial merchant base in German speaking Europe and will help Klarna to become the leading European payments provider and rival to US groups such as PayPal, Visa and MasterCard.

Klarna is one of Europe’s leading providers of payment solutions for e-commerce.

Overview of Sofort

Founded in 2005, Sofort is a leading provider of online banking ePayments in Europe, employing 131 employees in six offices.

The company’s payment solution allows customers to pay online and transfer money directly through their bank account to the bank account of the merchant.

More than 12 million online shoppers have used the company’s services at more than 25,000 registered merchants across Europe.

Corestar Partners’ Role

Corestar Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Klarna and its shareholders on the acquisition of Sofort, demonstrating Corestar’s deep expertise in advising companies in the online payment sub-sector.

Corestar Partners has been in close dialogue with General Atlantic, one of Klarna’s key shareholders, over the past years.