Berlin—Global law firm Dentons has advised insolvent Berlin FinTech startup Cookies LABS on its sale to Klarna, a leading global payment service provider. As a consequence of disagreements within the management, Cookies LABS declared insolvency in October 2016. As part of the deal, Klarna assumed all debts of the company and all jobs were saved.

Cookies LABS has developed a payment app for mobile money transfer for iOS and Android. At no cost, registered users can exchange money between accounts without using TAN or IBAN numbers. They can also ask questions about payments and get real time answers via chat. Forbes ranked Cookies LABS among the “30 out of 30” in the financial sector after the company’s foundation in Berlin.

Klarna is a Swedish service provider, which offers payment solutions in 18 countries. It employs about 1,400 staff and has German subsidiaries in Berlin and Cologne. The company handles transactions worth approximately € 6,1billion per year. Customers can purchase on account and Klarna guarantees payment to the distributors.

Berlin Partner Thomas Schubert led the Dentons team, which provided Corporate and M&A advice on the deal. The team is part of Dentons’ global Venture Technology practice, which is focused on advising emerging growth and technology companies.

Advisor insolvency consultant Klarna (Christian Otto, hww hermann wienberg wilhelm)

Dentons (Berlin): Thomas Schubert (Partner, lead, Corporate/M&A), Dr Christian Schefold (Of Counsel, Corporate/M&A), Dr Ariane Loof (Senior Associate, data protection), Dimitrios Andreadis (Associate, Corporate/M&A).

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