But the biggest investors and venture capital funds were in the US, and over time that pull of its markets became irresistible. Spotify listed in New York in 2018. Now, Klarna is looking at something similar, filing listing documents in the US last week. Bankers and investors talk of a possible listing in the first half of next year that would value the company at up to $20bn. That would be a far cry from the $46bn Klarna was valued at in 2021 but better than the $6.7bn it achieved a year later in its last official fundraising round.
There is just no question: the US has the customers, the market; it has the VC funds; it has the investors. If you are going to list, why would you choose Europe today?asks one of the continent’s biggest industrialists, one of whose companies is examining a potential move from Europe to the US to try to boost its flagging share price.
That underscores the scale of the challenge for European policymakers: it is not just simply about developing a better financing ecosystem for start-ups of all sizes, there is also a need to properly complete the EU single market in so many areas from services to capital markets. Until it does, more like Klarna are likely to choose the US.
Richard Milne
This article is a good example of what happens when you start with a predefined notion (the EU is hopelessly behind and absolutely must chase the American VC-centric startup model) and force facts to fit the desired narrative (amusing to see the author being vigorously slammed in the comments).