Windward acquired for $270M by FTV Capital, doubling its IPO valuation
Windward acquired for $270M by FTV Capital, doubling its IPO valuation
The Israeli maritime analytics company will be delisted from the stock exchange, marking a premium exit for shareholders.
Israeli company Windward, which developed forecasting technology in the field of maritime trade, is being sold for 216 million pounds - approximately $270 million and almost a billion shekels.
The buyer is the American investment fund FTV Capital, which will delist Windward from trading after the sale.
This is not a bad exit compared to the recent sale transactions of Israeli companies that were made below the issue value. Windward was issued in London at a value of 126.5 million pounds, so it is almost a doubling of the value and a 47% premium on the closing price of the stock yesterday.
Windward, which developed a platform for forecasting and generating insights for the maritime trade industry and insurance companies, was founded in 2011 by Ami Daniel and Matan Peled, who served together as sailors in the Israel Navy.
The platform developed by Windward provides real-time information and insights on ships at sea while allowing stakeholders within the maritime sector to receive risk management intelligence and gain business and operational insights.
It is mainly used by insurance companies to assess risks in maritime transport insurance, but its clients also include shipping companies, government bodies for which it identifies suspicious vessels and energy companies such as BP and Shell.
Windward ended the first half of 2024 with revenues of $17.5 million, a 37% increase over the corresponding half in 2023.
Although the operating loss shrank compared to 2023, it still amounted to $3.5 million. In the bottom line, it lost $4.2 million, compared to $5.8 million in the first half of 2023. The company burned $2.6 million and as of mid-2024 only $13.8 million in cash remained in its coffers. Windward estimated that the company will break even towards the end of 2024.
Since its inception, the company has boasted an impressive list of investors and directors, starting with Marc Benioff, the founder of Salesforce, Hong Kong's Lee Ka-shing, to the former head of the CIA, David Petraeus, to Dan Signor, one of the authors of the book "Startup Nation". Windward is chaired by Lord John Brown, who is considered the legendary CEO of the British oil giant BP, who headed it from 1995 to 2007.
Until the offering, Windward raised only $35 million, most of it in the round held in 2018 and in the first offering it received an additional 34.5 million pounds.
Windward is registered in Israel and employs 127 of its 170 employees in the country. The main beneficiaries of the exit are the two founders, Daniel (40) and Peled (43), who own approximately 7% of the shares. Another Israeli beneficiary is Michael Eisenberg's Aleph venture capital fund, which led the Series B round in 2013 and continued to invest in subsequent fundraising rounds until the IPO. The fund is the largest shareholder in Windward, holding 14% of the company—worth NIS 140 million at the time of the sale. The remaining holdings belong to foreign entities, with the only Israeli institutional investor being the investment house Altshuler Shaham, which owns approximately 3% of the shares.
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Windward was represented by advs. Simon Marks and Jeremy Seeff from Epstein Rosenblum Maoz (ERM) and CMS Law firm. The buyer was represented by Gornitzky & Co. and Willkie Farr & Gallagher.
