In 2022,several venture capital funds,including Australian venture capital heavyweight Blackbird,slashed their valuations ofCanva by about 36 per cent to $US25.6 billion ($40 billion). In August this year,Canva added two new investors at a valuation of $39 billion.
Companies like Canva are seen as higher-risk assets,and the technology sector last year experienced a pullback from funds,as they slashed their valuations of private tech companies amid a collapse in publicly listed tech stocks.
The rapid fall in Canva’s valuation prompted the review from APRA on how super funds were managing their investments in technology. Notable super funds with stakes in Canva include Australian Super and Hostplus.
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On Monday,the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority (APRA) released the findings of its review into the governance practices of super funds invested in Canva.
While APRA broadly gave its nod of approval to the processes used by super funds to value Canva,the regulator said there was room for improvement in how super funds dealt with unlisted assets.
“APRA assessed the majority of registrable superannuation entity (RSE) licensees’ governance practices related to their valuation of Canva as appropriate,” it said in a letter to super funds on Monday.