Blackbird nets $800m payday from Canva share sale

Australia’s largest venture capital firm Blackbird will return a little more than $800 million to investors after selling another portion of its stake in Canva during the design software firm’s giant $US2.4 billion share sale ($3.6 billion).

The transaction, which valued Canva at $US26 billion, allowed staff and early investors to sell their shares in the private company, turning some employees into millionaires and generating big returns for superannuation funds that tipped money into local VCs.