Klarna beefing up in Germany via acquisition

Swedish payment company Klarna has entered a deal to buy BillPay, a German consumer financing company, bolstering Klarna's merchant reach in central Europe

Klarna didn't disclose financial terms of the deal in its release, though the U.K. technology wire Finextra reports its value at about $90 million. BillPay provides the same service as Klarna, enabling installment and flexible payment terms for consumers at online stores.

BillPay has about 5,000 online merchants and 12 million consumers as clients.

Klarna employs 1,500 people and has a network of 65,000 merchants offering payments to more than 45 million users in Europe and North America. Its investors include Sequoia Capital, and it's valued at about $2.3 billion.

The acquisition, which is still subject to local regulatory approval, will help Klarna expand in Germany, which is one of the largest e-commerce markets in the world, said Sebastian Siemiatkowski, cofounder and CEO of Klarna, in a release.

Klarna is also expanding in North America, opening a new base of operations in Columbus, Ohio, and supports Amex, Visa and Mastercard as part of its model to reduce cart abandonment in e-commerce by offering flexible payment terms.