TradeWindow acquires Rfider

MEDIA RELEASE
TradeWindow acquires Rfider to further strengthen supply chain visibility
17 May 2022
Auckland, NZ. TradeWindow (NZX: TWL), a leading Australasian trade tech company
headquartered in Takapuna Auckland has announced a conditional agreement to
acquire the business and assets of Rfider Limited, an Auckland-based software
company.

Rfider has developed a mobile interface that can be rapidly deployed in complex
supply chains to capture many points of data. It will help TradeWindow extend its
reach deeper into primary industry supply chains by providing traceability all the
way back to the points of cultivation and production.

CEO of TradeWindow, AJ Smith said the acquisition significantly enhances
TradeWindow’s existing provenance solution, with its impressive user experience and
broader target market.
“We are excited by the synergies. Rfider’s functionality will strengthen
TradeWindow’s offer for our customers who compete on transparency of origin,
ethical practices, sustainability and quality. It also broadens our offerings to our
customers beyond the export operations team to help solve broader issues of
concern to the marketing team, and senior management/board with respect to
marketing claims of sustainability and verification for ESG reporting,” Mr Smith says.

The skilled team, as well as customers from Australasia, Europe, USA and South
America which will come across as part of the acquisition, will significantly
accelerate TradeWindow’s penetration of the traceability market.
It will give TradeWindow positive exposure to an additional estimated $16.8
1
billion
worldwide market opportunity for food traceability
1
. For example, Rfider provides
TradeWindow with a presence in the large soft commodity markets outside of
Australasia – where the coffee bean market alone has a worldwide Total
Addressable Market of US$27 billion
2
.
Last year, Rfider’s interoperable food traceability solution was a winner of the US
FDA’s 2021“New Era of Smarter Food Safety Low- or No-Cost Tech-enabled
Traceability Challenge”.
Rfider Founder and CEO John Pennington, who will join TradeWindow as a fulltime
employee, welcomes the move into the TradeWindow fold. Mr Pennington is a highly
experienced technology executive with an international career spanning the Boston
Consulting Group, Apple and Deloitte, where he established Deloitte Digital in New
Zealand.

1
Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/food-traceability-market-103288069.html
2
https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/coffee-beans-
market#:~:text=The%20global%20coffee%20beans%20market%20size%20was%20estimated%20at%20USD,USD%2030.
33%20billion%20in%202020.

“We are proud of the progress we have made actualising traceability across global
supply chains right down to the individual item level. Combining our FDA award
winning solution with TradeWindow will see our combined customers served with an
even stronger solution,” says Mr Pennington.
Rfider’s customers include global leaders in soft commodities and foods and
beverages, including ECOM Agroindustrial Corporation (Switzerland), Sucden
(France), Zealandia Honey and a major New Zealand brewery.
TradeWindow is acquiring the business and assets from Rfider Limited, owned by
John Pennington, Rfider Chairman Bruce Gordon (former Pushpay Chairman and
CEO), and K1W1, among others. The business and assets primarily comprise the
Rfider software platform and associated intellectual property, and customer
relationships.
The maximum purchase price is $10 million and the final purchase price will be
proportional to the achievement of an aggregate $4.22 million in revenue over the
two year period. The acquisition will be funded with an initial payment of $2.5 million
in cash and the balance in TradeWindow shares in two tranches, subject to and
following achievement of revenue targets in the first and second year following
settlement. TradeWindow is currently evaluating the optimal funding structure for the
transaction, which may take the form of cash-on-hand, debt or equity (or a
combination thereof). The transaction is conditional on TradeWindow sourcing
additional funding by 30 July 2022, or otherwise waiving the condition. It will update
the market once the funding arrangements for the transaction have been finalised.
The acquisition will be the first by TradeWindow since listing on NZX in late November
2021. It follows earlier acquisitions of Prodoc, IVS Origin, Cyberfreight, Freight Legend
and SpeEDI as the company makes progress in consolidating a fragmented
TradeTech sector and builds a cohesive global trade platform to enable customers
to more efficiently run their back-end operations, share information and securely
collaborate with a global supply chain ecosystem made up of customers, ports,
terminals, shipping lines, banks, insurance companies and government authorities.
ENDS
About TradeWindow:
Founded in December 2018, TradeWindow is an NZX-listed software company that provides digital
solutions for exporters, importers, freight forwarders, and customs brokers to drive productivity, increase
connectivity, and enhance visibility. TradeWindow’s software solutions integrate to form a cohesive digital
trade platform that enables customers to more efficiently run their back-end operations, share
information and securely collaborate with a global supply chain made up of customers, ports, terminals,
shipping lines, banks, insurance companies, and government authorities.
www.tradewindow.io
Further information:
Piet de Jong, for TradeWindow communications
piet.dejong@baldwinboyle.com, +64 21 812 766