Google ordered to pay nearly $2B to Klarna’s Pricerunner unit in antitrust dispute

Google just got handed a bill for nearly $2 billion, and the recipient is an unlikely one: a comparison shopping service now owned by the buy-now-pay-later giant Klarna.

Alphabet’s Google was ordered to pay the sum to PriceRunner, a Klarna subsidiary, in a dispute over market abuse. The case centers on allegations that Google systematically favored its own shopping platform over competitors in search results, effectively starving rivals of traffic and revenue.

A dispute years in the making

This didn’t come out of nowhere. The case traces directly back to the European Commission’s 2017 decision that fined Google a then-record €2.42 billion for abusing its dominant position in online search. The Commission found that Google had been promoting its own comparison shopping service, Google Shopping, at the top of search results while demoting competitors.

That ruling was upheld by the EU Court in 2024, removing any lingering doubt about whether the underlying conduct was illegal.

PriceRunner, a Swedish comparison shopping service, took that finding and ran with it. The company filed its own damages claim arguing that Google’s anticompetitive behavior had directly harmed its business.

Klarna acquired PriceRunner in 2022, inheriting the lawsuit along with the business. The fintech company has reportedly been keeping investors updated on the case’s progress.

Trial proceedings ran from October 20 to December 19, 2025, with a Swedish court handling the case. PriceRunner’s damages claim was initially around €2.1 billion, with some estimates suggesting the total claim reached as high as $8.3 billion.

Why this matters beyond the courtroom

The EU’s 2017 Google Shopping decision was the first time a major regulator took concrete action against the way a dominant search engine could weaponize its own platform to crush vertical competitors. The €2.42 billion fine grabbed headlines, but private damages claims are different. They multiply the financial exposure because every competitor harmed by the same conduct can file its own lawsuit.

What this means for investors

For Klarna, which has been navigating its own path toward profitability and public markets, this represents a potentially significant financial windfall. The acquisition of PriceRunner in 2022 is looking like a shrewd move, picking up a business that came bundled with a multi-billion-dollar legal claim.

A Swedish court judgment is scheduled for July 1, 2026, which may provide additional clarity on related proceedings — the date having been postponed from an initial April 2026 target.

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