$2.43bn secondary sale of Canva shares

Venture-backed graphic design tools company Canva has confirmed $US1.6 billion ($2.43 billion) of its shares changed hands in a secondary market sale in March.

The sale valued Canva at $US26 billion, only marginally higher than the $US25.5 valuation set by a $150 million sale of shares by Blackbird Ventures to US investment firms Coatue Management and ICONIQ Capital in August last year. The shares in that sale had been held by Blackbird’s first fund.

Investors led by T. Rowe price had previously set a $US40 billion valuation when they invested $US200 million in Canva in September 2021.

Prior to the latest transaction, buyers were seeking $US2.4 billion worth of shares indicating there is likely to be strong demand for the company if, as anticipated, it lists in the US in the next few years. Canva is registered in the US state of Delaware and now has its largest sales in the US.

In the latest transaction, Blackbird again exited shares held by its early funds but most of the sales are believed to have been on behalf of current and former Canva staff who had received shares under Canva’s employee stock ownership plan (ESOP).

Canva co-founder and chief operating officer Cliff Obrecht confirmed most of the sales were ESOP shares and indicated more similar sales were likely to follow.

Now ten years old, Canva has been profitable since 2017 and says it has achieved record growth over the last 12 months.

Image: Canva co-founders Cameron Adams, Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht.