Franklin Templeton's Growth Opportunities Fund has cut the value of the 11,829 shares it bought from A$28.2 million to A$18.7 million, effectively valuing the ...
Franklin Templeton is the only Canva investor to have so far written down its recent round investment in the company by such a significant amount. The US tech stock sell-off has seen an investor in Canva’s most recent raising round cut the value of its shares by one-third, which suggests a huge market correction. The fund revealed its 33.5 per cent paper loss in a March 24 filing with the US corporate regulator.
Australian graphics design company Canva has soared to new heights in recent years but there's now a slight blip on its track record.
Using that same logic, Franklin Templeton thinks Canva might be worth a third less than its current value, effectively valuing the $54.5 billion company at around $37 billion. A Canva spokesman wouldn’t confirm this to news.com.au but said cash flow was not an issue as they had $US700 million ($A970 million) of pure cash in the bank. Stream more business news live & on demand with Flash. 25+ news channels in 1 place. A Canva spokesman said the company was not concerned by the news and that they are still in “a very strong financial position”. New to Flash? Try 1 month free. But now, one prominent investor appears to think the tech company is overvalued by a third of its price.
Canva takes hit as investor slashes value of shares by 33pc ... Melanie Perkins and Cliff Obrecht with Cameron Adams (left), Canva's third co-founder. Franklin's ...
Michael Baileywrites on entrepreneurship and the arts. In the US public markets, stellar tech names have fallen, despite the resilience of their business models. “Canva is an extraordinary company, and it has the potential to continue growing for many years to come and evolve into one of the most important technology companies globally,” he said. The sell-off of technology on public markets had in one way been a benefit to Canva, he added, as the volatility had sent a record 260,000 job applications its way in the past year. However, Franklin’s marking of its Canva shares to lower public market multiples means that any Canva raising in the near future could be a “down round” – one struck at a lower valuation than the most recent – which is a proven destroyer of confidence among investors, staff and even customers. In a sign that Canva is not immune from the tech sell-off in public markets, which has pushed the Nasdaq down 17 per cent in the past 6 months, Franklin Templeton’s Growth Opportunities Fund has slashed the value of the 11,829 shares it picked up in the raise from $US20.2 million to $US13.4 million ($28.2 million to $18.7 million).