April 4 (Reuters) - Swedish fintech Klarna has paused
its plans for a U.S. initial public offering as President Donald
Trump's sweeping tariffs rattle global markets, according to a
person familiar with the situation.
The decision would complicate an uneven recovery for the
U.S. IPOs market, as the company's listing was seen as a
potential catalyst for encouraging others to follow.
While hopes of a recovery were high in 2025, some of the new
entrants to the IPO market have seen muted receptions.
LNG exporter Venture Global's ( VG ) shares have dropped
since its January debut. AI infrastructure firm CoreWeave's ( CRWV )
shares also dipped on their first day of trading, but
have climbed since then.
Klarna was aiming to raise more than $1 billion at a
valuation exceeding $15 billion, according to media reports. It
had 93 million active customers on its platform and operations
in 26 countries as of 2024 end, according to its IPO filing.
Trump said earlier this week that a universal 10% tariff on
U.S. imports is set to take effect on April 5, followed by
further levies on dozens of countries.
Fears of a trade dispute have crushed stocks since then,
with the Nasdaq index set to confirm a bear market.
Klarna could reassess its plans if market conditions
stabilize, the person said. The company did not immediately
respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Its plans were first reported by the Wall Street Journal.
(Reporting by Anousha Sakoui in London and Niket Nishant in
Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila and Arun Koyyur)