Portfolio Update

RNS Number : 1264I

Merian Chrysalis Investment Co. Ltd

06 August 2019

 

The information contained in this announcement is restricted and is not for publication, release or distribution in the United States of America, any member state of the European Economic Area (other than the United Kingdom), Canada, Australia, Japan or the Republic of South Africa.

Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited

6 August 2019

Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Limited (the "Company")

Portfolio Update

·      Investment in Klarna Holding AB

·      Update on portfolio composition

Investment in Klarna Holding AB

The Company is pleased to announce an investment of US$50 million as part of a US$460 million funding round conducted by Klarna Holding AB. Other investors in the round include Dragoneer Investment Group and Commonwealth Bank of Australia. This follows a previous funding round in April of this year, which drew strong demand from Klarna's existing investor base and closed above the target amount of $100 million.

Klarna is a leading global payments provider that's revolutionising the payment experience. Klarna now works with 130,000 retail partners, including Adidas, IKEA, Expedia, ASOS, Ticketmaster, Zara, Nike and H&M, to offer payment solutions to users across Europe and North America. The company offers direct payments, pay after delivery options and instalment plans in a smooth one-click purchase experience that allows consumers to pay when and how they prefer. Klarna is active in 14 countries and is currently backed by a number of institutional investors including Sequoia Capital, Bestseller Group, Permira, Visa and Atomico.

Founded in Stockholm, Sweden in 2005, Klarna is one of Europe's most innovative and disruptive technology companies. The proceeds of the funding round will be used to build on the business's strong momentum, accelerating its scaling across markets and continuing its journey to fundamentally change the shopping and payment experience for consumers, while adding value for merchants. The user base continues to develop rapidly and Klarna welcomed almost 26 million new consumers during 2018.

Richard Watts, portfolio manager, comments:

"Klarna has built a highly-impressive, digital payments system, trusted by both retailers and consumers. By simplifying and improving the flexibility of the payments process, retail partners working with Klarna have seen considerable improvement in customer engagement and sales. Klarna is one of Europe's great FinTech success stories and the company continues to develop truly innovative payment solutions. This latest funding round will enable the company to execute on its ambitious international growth plans."

Update on portfolio composition

As a result of its investment in Klarna, and subject to completion of its previously disclosed investment in Embark Group, the Company's capital is approximately 73 per cent invested.

The Company continues to explore a range of further opportunities and will update the market as appropriate.

For further information, please contact: Merian Global Investors: Amelie Shepherd	[phone]
Liberum: Gillian Martin / Owen Matthews	[phone]
Maitland Administration (Guernsey) Limited: Aimee Gontier / Elaine Smeja	[phone]

LEI: 213800F9SQ753JQHSW24

A copy of this announcement will be available on the Company's website at https://www.merian.com/chrysalis/. Neither the content of the Company's website, nor the content on any website accessible from hyperlinks on its website for any other website, is incorporated into, or forms part of, this announcement nor, unless previously published by means of a recognised information service, should any such content be relied upon in reaching a decision as to whether or not to acquire, continue to hold, or dispose of, securities in the Company.

This announcement may include "forward-looking statements". All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this announcement, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations (including development plans and objectives relating to the Company's products and services) are forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties and accordingly the Company's actual future financial results and operational performance may differ materially from the results and performance expressed in, or implied by, the statements. These factors include but are not limited to those described in the formal Prospectus. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this announcement. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update or revise any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect actual results or any change in the assumptions, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based unless required to do so by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, the Listing Rules or Prospectus Rules of the Financial Conduct Authority or other applicable laws, regulations or rules.

 

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