IZettle, Square’s European rival, has raised €60m ($63.4m) in new funding and has also appointed a new CFO, Maria Hedengren.
The latest funding for the company that provides card readers that accept mobile and contactless payments comes from equity from existing investors in a Series D extension as well as debt funding from US based, Victory Park Capital via its credit fund, VPC Speciality Lending PLC. The company said the money will be used to expand its products and support in Europe and Latin America. This brings the company’s total funds raised to $235m
Some of the funding also looks set to furthering iZettle’s focus on becoming the Swiss army knife of products as the company’s founder and CEO, Jacob de Geer, told TechCrunch that it will be used on acquisitions. In September last year, iZettle acquired intelligentpos is an Edinburgh-based cloud-based point of sale service for restaurants, bars and shops in the UK.
“We have been following the impressive growth of iZettle since its inception. iZettle is an innovator and a clear market leader in Europe and we want to be part of its next chapter of growth. 2017 promises to be a vibrant and buoyant time for both iZettle and its market,” said Gordon Watson, Partner at Victory Park Capital.
The Sweden-based company has also announced the appointment of its new CEO, Marina Hedengren. Hedengren, former CFO at online gambling company, NetEnt. Such an appointment will undoubtedly lead to rumours of an upcoming IPO or at the very least, iZettle’s first foray into the US market, where it will come up against its biggest rival, Square.
“Maria’s passion is gearing companies for growth and is exactly the type of person we need to get ready for the plans we have for 2017 and beyond,” said de Geer.
“We are obviously impressed with the work that Maria has done for other fast moving tech companies, many of which live in heavily regulated environments like ours, and are more than excited by what she brings to the table”.
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