Slack recently grabbed headlines when it announced that it filed confidentially for a direct listing.
Getting far less attention, Bermuda-based reinsurer Watford Holdings (WTRE) has also opted for that route. Between May 2017 and August 2018, it submitted eight confidential IPO filings to the SEC, but then filed paperwork for a direct listing in December 2018. It now aims to begin trading on the Nasdaq this Friday, February 15.
Unlike Slack or 2018’s Spotify (SPOT), Watford has virtually no name recognition among retail or professional investors. However, it’s not an insignificant company. Watford ended the year with about $1 billion in shareholders’ equity, and its original IPO papers listed lead underwriters J.P. Morgan, Barclays, and Morgan Stanley. The banks are now joint lead advisors for the direct listing, along with co-advisors BofA Merrill Lynch and Keefe Bruyette Woods.
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