New Klarna valuation drives £117m payout to Jupiter Asset Management
Managers and two stockpickers at Jupiter Asset Management reportedly received a £117m payout after giving Klarna an inflated valuation.
Unicorn investor Chrysalis Investments said on Wednesday that it would pay Jupiter performance and management fees over £117m after a surge in the value of its investment portfolio, which includes Klarna, the Times first reported.
Jupiter fund managers, Nick Williamson and Richard Watts, will receive pay checks worth a combined £60.5m in newly issued Chrysalis shares. A £51.5 million performance fee will be delivered to Jupiter in cash.
It comes after Chrysalis Investments valued buy-now-pay-later business Klarna at £387m in September 2021, up from just £93.5m a year prior.
The burgeoning value of Chrysalis’ stake in Klarna was the driving factor which lifted net asset value per share by 57 per cent last year.
The Times report noted that while Chrysalis used two independent valuers to estimate the value of its Klarna stake, Williamson and Watts have previously made bullish remarks about the company. In August Watts told The Times he thought that Klarna could be worth $125bn within 18 months.
Klarna accounts for over a quarter of net assets in the Chrysalis portfolio. Chrysalis’ share price has tumbled by 23.54 per cent over the past month to stand at 183 pence.