Big investors have been slashing valuations on stakes in private companies like Palantir and Airbnb. Here’s why some ‘mature unicorns’ are in a tricky spot and could keep sinking.

Big investors have been slashing valuations on stakes in private companies like Palantir and Airbnb. Here’s why some ‘mature unicorns’ are in a tricky spot and could keep sinking.

Some of the world's most well-known private companies have lost value since the pandemic's start, according to their mutual-fund backers, securities filings show. 

Even before the pandemic hit, a survey of venture capitalists found that a majority believed unicorns were "significantly" overvalued.

Bankers and valuation experts see a potential quick fix to falling valuations: SPACs, which have taken Wall Street by storm over the last month. 

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Palantir, Airbnb, WeWork, and Sweetgreen have all had their valuations cut in recent months by the biggest asset managers in the world.

While some of the cuts may have been tied to pandemic-specific developments like a plunge in global travel, some market-watchers say it was time for private valuations to come back down to earth anyway.

BlackRock cut its valuation of its stake