CMS advises Canaccord on Windward’s £126.5m AIM IPO

International law firm CMS has advised Canaccord Genuity Limited (Canaccord), as nominated adviser and sole broker, on the AIM IPO of Windward Ltd. (Windward). The IPO raised approximately £26.3m for Windward and £8.2m for existing shareholders, giving Windward a market capitalisation of £126.5m on admission.

Windward is a leading predictive intelligence company, fusing artificial intelligence (AI) and maritime expertise seeking to digitalise the global maritime industry. Windward is headquartered in Israel with a presence in five additional locations around the world, being the UK, USA (west coast and east coast, including Washington D.C.), Denmark and the UAE.

Windward's AI-powered software solution aims to provide real-time information and insights on major seafaring vessels at sea, enabling stakeholders within the maritime ecosystem to make intelligence-driven decisions to manage risk and achieve business and operational insights. 

Windward principally offers its Predictive Intelligence Platform through a Software as a Service model, providing annual subscription for customers. Windward has over 70 globally spread customers, including a number of leading participants across the maritime industry covering banks, commodity traders, insurers, government agencies, and major energy and shipping companies.

Louis Glass, Managing Partner of CMS’s Tel Aviv office, comments: “It’s gratifying to mark the first weeks of our new office in Tel Aviv with the successful completion of this exciting transaction, which reinforces our belief in the opportunity that Israeli business represents for CMS and our clients. Our congratulations to the Windward and Canaccord teams on their success.”

Jack Shepherd, CMS Corporate partner, comments: “We are delighted to have supported Canaccord on Windward’s successful AIM IPO, despite the recent challenges to the market. Our ECM team continues to be highly active. This is the eighth IPO we have completed this year (including ActiveOps, musicMagpie, tinyBuilder, Longboat Energy, Aquila Energy Efficiency, Arecor Therapeutics and Tortilla Mexican Grill) with more expected over the coming months.”

The CMS team was led by Corporate partners, Jack Shepherd and Louis Glass, with assistance from Corporate associates, Sarah Kensell and Maria Doran.