The valuation of Swedish fintech firm Klarna, a buy now, pay later company (BNPL), may drop 7.6 times after a new funding round, Bloomberg reports quoting sources, Russian Forbes writes.

According to them, Klarna is in talks to raise new equity at a valuation as low as $6 billion, a fraction of the $45.6 billion it commanded last summer.

The Wall Street Journal reported last month that the $6 billion figure was drastically lower than the $15 billion mark reported as being negotiated. Prior to that, The Wall Street Journal wrote that Klarna was looking to raise about $1 billion from investors.

Employees may be granted new equity options at the lower valuation, as the majority of existing options bear no value. Klarna’s valuation discussions remain in flux and it’s possible the level could land closer to $10 billion, sources told Bloomberg.

A Klarna representative declined to comment, saying the company doesn’t discuss fundraising or valuation speculation. A new valuation for Klarna would align with a correction in public markets just as a cocktail of inflation, higher rates and looming recession pressures its business model.

Klarna allows customers to purchase items now and split the cost into interest and fee-free instalments. The Swedish lender posted an operating loss of $245 million in the first quarter 2022. It has 400,000 retail partners, including Nike Inc., Ikea and Sephora.

Klarna competes with British fintech startup Revolut, co-founded by Russia-born billionaire Nikolay Storonsky. Revolut entered buy now, pay later market in late June and picked Ireland as the first market. The Revolut product will be better than that of Klarna, Nikolay Storonsky confidently said in September 2021.

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