Klarna Group PLC made a strong entrance on the New York Stock Exchange, with shares closing a frenetic first session 15% higher.
The Swedish fintech, known for its “buy now, pay later” lending service, had priced its offering at $40 a share, raising $1.37 billion for the company and selling shareholders.
The stock opened at $52 before easing back, giving Klarna a market value of about $17.3 billion by the end of the session.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski, Klarna’s co-founder and chief executive, compared the IPO to “a wedding” in an interview with CNBC, saying the real work still lay ahead.
The company is seeking to broaden its business beyond instalment payments, launching debit cards and savings accounts in the United States. So far, 700,000 people have signed up for its card and another 5 million are on a waiting list.
The stock closed the session at $45.82.