VivoPower clears $28.8m founder loan ahead of Nordic data centre push

Vivo Power has wiped retired the full $28.8 cardinal main of a shareholder indebtedness owed to a institution controlled by Kevin Chin, its enforcement president and main executive.

The Nasdaq-listed developer of powered onshore and information centre infrastructure said the facility, extended by founding shareholder AWN Holdings, has been retired successful 2 parts.

AWN converted $16.5 cardinal of the indebtedness by taking 165,000 convertible penchant shares arsenic portion of the $50 cardinal backstage placement announced connected 29 July.

The remaining $12.3 cardinal was repaid successful currency from existing balances.

AWN is portion of Arowana, the interaction concern radical Chin founded, and has committed to a minimum six-month lock-up connected the shares it received.

The transaction leaves nary main outstanding nether the loan, which dates backmost to VivoPower's aboriginal years arsenic a nationalist institution and had appeared repeatedly successful its filings with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Accrued involvement is inactive to beryllium finalised and settled.

Because of Chin's dual role, the woody counts arsenic a related-party transaction and was reviewed and approved by the audit and hazard committee, made up wholly of autarkic directors.

The institution said the conversion was priced connected the aforesaid presumption offered to the extracurricular institutions taking portion successful the placement, which drew backing from investors successful the United Kingdom, the European Union and the Nordic region.

Clearing the indebtedness removes the associated involvement outgo and simplifies a superior operation that has agelong carried the bequest of the laminitis facility.

That matters arsenic VivoPower moves into a capital-intensive phase.

The institution is gathering retired artificial quality information centre capableness successful Norway and Finland, wherever inexpensive hydroelectric and upwind powerfulness and a chill clime person attracted operators looking to tally energy-hungry computing clusters astatine little cost.

It besides holds infrastructure successful the United Arab Emirates.

VivoPower has recast itself implicit the past 2 years from a star and electrical conveyance concern into what it describes arsenic a spouse for sovereign states seeking home power implicit power, information and computing capacity.

Listed since 2016 and certified arsenic a B Corporation, it is 1 of a tiny fig of London-managed companies attempting to presumption themselves successful the Nordic information centre market.

The strengthened equilibrium expanse gives it a cleaner level from which to rise further superior for that expansion.