The board will take up the question on Wednesday of whether Mikael Walther should be dismissed from the board after eight years, according to two sources. Walther is described as a close ally to Klarna's co-founder and major owner Victor Jacobsson.
Pre-emption right of shares
The dispute is said to revolve around the different views on how the company's founders – including Jacobsson – use their pre-emption right of shares in Klarna through so-called SPV companies (Special Purpose Vehicles). However, according to a newspaper source, there is also a dispute about whether, after the planned listing, there should be a so-called golden share in Klarna that gives certain shareholders significantly more influence than others.
Neither Klarna nor Walther has wanted to comment on the information, according to the newspaper.
Earlier this year, the same newspaper reported that the venture capital firm Sequoia, Klarna's largest owner, tried to dismiss co-founder and CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski's ally on the board, Michael Moritz. However, this board battle ended with Sequoia making a deal with Moritz on continued confidence and instead replacing its representative on the board who had driven the campaign against Moritz with another Sequoia partner.
Ready for the stock exchange
Klarna's CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski said in an interview with Dagens industri on Tuesday, in connection with an interim report, that it is reasonable and realistic to list the soon 20-year-old fintech company in 2025.
He has already previously stated – among other things to TT – that Klarna is ready for the stock exchange and that the listing is only a matter of timing.
