[upsuper]

> If Affinity had a great business of their own, they wouldn’t need to sell.

They don't need to. They mentioned that in their FAQ:

> We have to say that selling Serif was not on our minds at all, but when Canva contacted us (only a couple of months ago!) there was something about it which just felt right.

[pembrook]

Riiight. They had a fantastically enjoyable and profitable business going for themselves...but they decided they'd rather give up all control and sell their baby to a much larger corporate entity, give up the future upside from any growth, and play office politics instead of control their own destiny.

...because it just "felt right."

[candiodari]

Not really. They did so because people pay MUCH more for much less functionality in Canva, and so accepting the offer gives them a payday they couldn't hope to accumulate themselves.