VVPR VivoPower International PLC

 

Table of Contents

 

As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 16, 2024

 

Registration No. 333–276509

 

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 

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Amendment No. 1 to

Form F-3

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

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VIVOPOWER INTERNATIONAL PLC

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

 

Not Applicable

(Translation of Registrant's name into English)

England and Wales (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization)

Not Applicable (I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)

VivoPower International PLC

The Scalpel, 18th Floor, 52 Lime Street

London EC3M 7AF

United Kingdom

+44-203-667-5158

(Address and telephone number of registrant’s principal executive offices)

 

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Corporation Service Company

251 Little Falls Drive Wilmington, DE 19808

United States

Telephone: +1 302 636 5400

 

(Name, address, and telephone number of agent for service)

 

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Copies to:

 

Elliott M. Smith

White & Case LLP

1221 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10020

Telephone: (212) 819-8200

 

Approximate date of commencement of proposed sale to the public: From time to time after the effective date of this registration statement.

 

If only securities being registered on this Form are being offered pursuant to dividend or interest reinvestment plans, please check the following box. ☐

 

If any of the securities being registered on this Form are to be offered on a delayed or continuous basis pursuant to Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, check the following box. ☒

 

If this Form is filed to register additional securities for an offering pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act, please check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment filed pursuant to Rule 462(c) under the Securities Act, check the following box and list the Securities Act registration statement number of the earlier effective registration statement for the same offering. ☐

 

If this Form is a registration statement pursuant to General Instruction I.C. or a post-effective amendment thereto that shall become effective upon filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(e) under the Securities Act, check the following box. ☐

 

If this Form is a post-effective amendment to a registration statement filed pursuant to General Instruction I.C. filed to register additional securities or additional classes of securities pursuant to Rule 413(b) under the Securities Act, check the following box.  ☐

 

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933.

 

Emerging growth company ☐

 

If an emerging growth company that prepares its financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards† provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act . ☐

 

† The term “new or revised financial accounting standard” refers to any update issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board to its Accounting Standards Codification after April 5, 2012.

 

 

 

 

The registrant hereby amends this registration statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this registration statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 or until the registration statement shall become effective on such date as the Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

 

 

The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

PRELIMINARY - SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED FEBRUARY 16, 2024

 

PROSPECTUS

 

VIVOPOWER INTERNATIONAL PLC

 

$18,000,000

 

Ordinary Shares

Debt Securities

Warrants

Rights

Units

 

This prospectus will allow us to issue, from time to time at prices and on terms to be determined at or prior to the time of the offering, up to $18,000,000 of any combination of the securities described in this prospectus, either individually or in units. We may also offer: ordinary shares upon conversion of or exchange for the debt securities or upon the exercise of the warrants or rights.

 

This prospectus describes the general terms of these securities and the general manner in which these securities will be offered. We will provide you with the specific terms of any offering in one or more supplements to this prospectus. The prospectus supplements will also describe the specific manner in which these securities will be offered and may also supplement, update or amend information contained in this document. You should read this prospectus and any prospectus supplement, as well as any documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus or any prospectus supplement, carefully before you invest.

 

Our securities may be sold directly by us to you, through agents designated from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers. For additional information on the methods of sale, you should refer to the section titled “Plan of Distribution” in this prospectus and in the applicable prospectus supplement. If any underwriters or agents are involved in the sale of our securities with respect to which this prospectus is being delivered, the names of such underwriters or agents and any applicable fees, commissions or discounts and over-allotment options will be set forth in a prospectus supplement. The price to the public of such securities and the net proceeds that we expect to receive from such sale will also be set forth in a prospectus supplement.

 

Our ordinary shares are listed on The Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “VVPR.” On February 15, 2024, the last reported sale price of our ordinary shares on The Nasdaq Capital Market was $1.44 per share. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing, if any, on The Nasdaq Capital Market or any securities market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement. Prospective purchasers of our securities are urged to obtain current information as to the market prices of our securities, where applicable.

 

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before deciding whether to invest in our securities, you should consider carefully the risks that we have described on page 6 of this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors.” We may also include specific risk factors in supplements to this prospectus under the caption “Risk Factors.” This prospectus may not be used to sell our securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

 

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the adequacy or accuracy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

As of the date of this prospectus, the aggregate market value of our ordinary shares held by non-affiliates, or public float, was determined to be approximately $4,218,124 based on 3,270,599 ordinary shares outstanding, of which 1,936,696 are held by non-affiliates, and the closing sale price of our ordinary shares on Nasdaq of $2.18 on January 11, 2024, which is within 60 days of the date of this prospectus. Pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5. of Form F-3, in no event will we sell the securities covered hereby in a public primary offering with a value exceeding more than one-third of the aggregate market value of our ordinary shares in any 12-month period so long as the aggregate market value of our outstanding voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates remains below $75,000,000. During the 12 calendar month period prior to, and including, the date of this prospectus, we have sold approximately $663,000 of our securities pursuant to General Instruction I.B.5 of Form F-3.

 

The date of this prospectus is                   , 2024.

 

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS	1
PROSPECTUS SUMMARY	2
RISK FACTORS	6
SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS	7
USE OF PROCEEDS	9
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION	10
DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL	12
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES	25
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS	30
DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS	31
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS	32
EXPENSES	33
LEGAL MATTERS	34
EXPERTS	34
ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS	34
WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION	34
INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE	35

 

 

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

 

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, utilizing a “shelf” registration process. Under this shelf registration process, we may offer our ordinary shares, various series of debt securities or warrants, and rights to purchase any of such securities, either individually or in units, in one or more offerings, with a total value of up to $18,000,000. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities we may offer. Each time we offer a type or series of securities under this prospectus, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering.

 

This prospectus does not contain all of the information included in the registration statement. For a more complete understanding of the offering of the securities, you should refer to the registration statement, including its exhibits. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. However, no prospectus supplement will offer a security that is not registered and described in this prospectus at the time of its effectiveness. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplements and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus, includes all material information relating to the offering of securities under this prospectus. You should carefully read this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, the information and documents incorporated herein by reference and the additional information under the headings “Where You Can Find More Information” and “Incorporation of Documents by Reference” before making an investment decision.

 

You should rely only on the information we have provided or incorporated by reference in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representation. This prospectus is an offer to sell only the securities offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. You should assume that the information in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement is accurate only as of the date on the front of the document and that any information we have incorporated herein by reference is accurate only as of the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus or any sale of a security.

 

We further note that the representations, warranties and covenants made by us in any agreement that is filed as an exhibit to any document that is incorporated by reference in this prospectus were made solely for the benefit of the parties to such agreement, including, in some cases, for the purpose of allocating risk among the parties to such agreements, and should not be deemed to be a representation, warranty or covenant to you. Moreover, such representations, warranties or covenants were accurate only as of the date when made. Accordingly, such representations, warranties and covenants should not be relied on as accurately representing the current state of our affairs.

 

This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of our securities unless it is accompanied by a prospectus supplement. To the extent there are inconsistencies between any prospectus supplement, this prospectus and any documents incorporated by reference, the document with the most recent date will control.

 

Unless otherwise indicated or the context otherwise requires, in this prospectus, “VivoPower,” the “company,” “we,” “us” and “our” refer to VivoPower International PLC and its consolidated subsidiaries, except where the context otherwise requires.

 

 

RISK FACTORS

 

Investing in our securities involves significant risk. The prospectus supplement applicable to each offering of our securities will contain a discussion of the risks applicable to an investment in the company. Prior to making a decision about investing in our securities, you should carefully consider the specific factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement, together with all of the other information contained or incorporated by reference in the prospectus supplement or appearing or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You should also consider the risks, uncertainties and assumptions discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” included in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F and any subsequent Annual Reports on Form 20-F we file after the date of this prospectus, and all other information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus or the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part, as updated by our subsequent filings under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act, and the risk factors and other information contained in any applicable prospectus supplement before acquiring any of our securities. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also affect our operations. The occurrence of any of these risks might cause you to lose all or part of your investment in the offered securities.

 

 

SPECIAL NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

 

The statements contained in this prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference herein include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act and Section 21E of the Exchange Act that relate to future events or our future financial performance and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from any future results, levels of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Words such as, but not limited to, “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “targets,” “likely,” “will,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “continue,” and similar expressions or phrases, or the negative of those expressions or phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Although we believe that we have a reasonable basis for each forward-looking statement contained in this prospectus and incorporated by reference in this prospectus, we caution you that these statements are based on our projections of the future that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements, to differ. The sections in our periodic reports, including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2023, titled “Information on the Company,” “Risk Factors,” and “Operating and Financial Review and Prospects,” as well as other sections in this prospectus and the documents or reports incorporated by reference in this prospectus, discuss some of the factors that could contribute to these differences. These forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements about:

 

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our expectations regarding our revenue, expenses and other results of operations;

 

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our plans to acquire, invest in, develop or sell our investments in energy projects or joint ventures, including in the electric vehicle sector;

 

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our ability to attract and retain customers;

 

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the growth rates of the markets in which we compete;

 

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our liquidity and working capital requirements;

 

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our ability to raise sufficient capital to realize development opportunities and thereby generate revenue;

 

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our anticipated strategies for growth;

 

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our ability to anticipate market needs and develop new and enhanced solutions to meet those needs;

 

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anticipated trends and challenges in our business and in the markets in which we operate;

 

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our expectations regarding demand for electric vehicle conversion kits;

 

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our expectations regarding changes in the cost of materials for electric vehicle conversion kits;

 

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our expectations regarding demand for solar power by energy users or investor in projects;

 

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our expectations regarding changes in the cost of developing and constructing solar projects;

 

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our ability to compete in our industry and innovation by our competitors;

 

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our ability to develop competitive electric vehicle products and build scalable assembly processes;

 

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the extent to which events with a global impact on supply chains, such as pandemics or wars, affects our business, financial condition and results of operations;

 

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our expectations regarding our ongoing legal proceedings;

 

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our ability to adequately protect our intellectual property; and

 

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our plans to pursue strategic acquisitions, divestments and other corporate finance related transactions.

 

 

We may not actually achieve the plans, intentions or expectations disclosed in our forward-looking statements, and you should not place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements. Actual results or events could differ materially from the plans, intentions and expectations disclosed in the forward-looking statements we make. We have included important cautionary statements in this prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, particularly in the “Risk Factors” section, that we believe could cause actual results or events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements that we make. For a summary of such factors, please refer to the section titled “Risk Factors” in this prospectus, as updated and supplemented by the discussion of risks and uncertainties under “Risk Factors” contained in any supplements to this prospectus and in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F, as revised or supplemented by our subsequent periodic reports filed under the Exchange Act, as well as any amendments thereto, as filed with the SEC and which are incorporated by reference. The information contained in this document is believed to be current as of the date of this document. We do not intend to update any of the forward-looking statements after the date of this document to conform these statements to actual results or to changes in our expectations, except as required by law.

 

In light of these assumptions, risks and uncertainties, the results and events discussed in the forward-looking statements contained in this prospectus or in any document incorporated herein by reference might not occur. Investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this prospectus or the date of the document incorporated by reference. We are not under any obligation, and we expressly disclaim any obligation, to update or alter any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All subsequent forward-looking statements attributable to us or to any person acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section.

 

 

USE OF PROCEEDS

 

Unless otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we intend to use any net proceeds from the sale of securities under this prospectus to fund the expansion of our operations in the electric vehicle segment and for working capital and other general purposes including, but not limited to, working capital, capital expenditures, investments, acquisitions, should we choose to pursue any, and collaborations. We have not determined the amounts we plan to spend on any of the areas listed above or the timing of these expenditures. As a result, our management will have broad discretion to allocate the net proceeds, if any, we receive in connection with securities offered pursuant to this prospectus for any purpose. Pending application of the net proceeds as described above, we may initially invest the net proceeds in short-term, investment-grade and interest-bearing securities.

 

 

PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION

 

We may offer securities under this prospectus from time to time pursuant to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades or a combination of these methods. We may sell the securities (1) through underwriters or dealers, (2) through agents or (3) directly to one or more purchasers, or through a combination of such methods. We may distribute the securities from time to time in one or more transactions at:

 

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a fixed price or prices, which may be changed from time to time;

 

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market prices prevailing at the time of sale;

 

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prices related to the prevailing market prices; or

 

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negotiated prices.

 

We may directly solicit offers to purchase the securities being offered by this prospectus. We may also designate agents to solicit offers to purchase the securities from time to time, and may enter into arrangements for “at-the-market,” equity line or similar transactions. We will name in a prospectus supplement any underwriter or agent involved in the offer or sale of the securities.

 

If we utilize a dealer in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, we will sell the securities to the dealer, as principal. The dealer may then resell the securities to the public at varying prices to be determined by the dealer at the time of resale.

 

If we utilize an underwriter in the sale of the securities being offered by this prospectus, we will execute an underwriting agreement with the underwriter at the time of sale, and we will provide the name of any underwriter in the prospectus supplement which the underwriter will use to make resales of the securities to the public. In connection with the sale of the securities, we, or the purchasers of the securities for whom the underwriter may act as agent, may compensate the underwriter in the form of underwriting discounts or commissions. The underwriter may sell the securities to or through dealers, and the underwriter may compensate those dealers in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions.

 

With respect to underwritten public offerings, negotiated transactions and block trades, we will provide in the applicable prospectus supplement information regarding any compensation we pay to underwriters, dealers or agents in connection with the offering of the securities, and any discounts, concessions or commissions allowed by underwriters to participating dealers. Underwriters, dealers and agents participating in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters within the meaning of the Securities Act, and any discounts and commissions received by them and any profit realized by them on resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions. We may enter into agreements to indemnify underwriters, dealers and agents against civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments they may be required to make in respect thereof.

 

If so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will authorize underwriters, dealers or other persons acting as our agents to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase securities from us pursuant to delayed delivery contracts providing for payment and delivery on the date stated in each applicable prospectus supplement. Each contract will be for an amount not less than, and the aggregate amount of securities sold pursuant to such contracts shall not be less nor more than, the respective amounts stated in each applicable prospectus supplement. Institutions with whom the contracts, when authorized, may be made include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and other institutions, but shall in all cases be subject to our approval. Delayed delivery contracts will not be subject to any conditions except that:

 

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the purchase by an institution of the securities covered under that contract shall not at the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of the jurisdiction to which that institution is subject; and

 

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if the securities are also being sold to underwriters acting as principals for their own account, the underwriters shall have purchased such securities not sold for delayed delivery. The underwriters and other persons acting as our agents will not have any responsibility in respect of the validity or performance of delayed delivery contracts.

 

 

One or more firms, referred to as “remarketing firms,” may also offer or sell the securities, if a prospectus supplement so indicates, in connection with a remarketing arrangement upon their purchase. Remarketing firms will act as principals for their own accounts or as our agents. These remarketing firms will offer or sell the securities in accordance with the terms of the securities. Each prospectus supplement will identify and describe any remarketing firm and the terms of its agreement, if any, with us and will describe the remarketing firm’s compensation. Remarketing firms may be deemed to be underwriters in connection with the securities they remarket. Remarketing firms may be entitled under agreements that may be entered into with us to indemnification by us against certain civil liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, and may be customers of, engage in transactions with or perform services for us in the ordinary course of business.

 

Certain underwriters may use this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement for offers and sales related to market-making transactions in the securities. These underwriters may act as principal or agent in these transactions, and the sales will be made at prices related to prevailing market prices at the time of sale. Any underwriters involved in the sale of the securities may qualify as “underwriters” within the meaning of Section 2(a)(11) of the Securities Act. In addition, the underwriters’ commissions, discounts or concessions may qualify as underwriters’ compensation under the Securities Act and the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., or FINRA.

 

Ordinary shares sold pursuant to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part will be authorized for listing and trading on The Nasdaq Capital Market. The applicable prospectus supplement will contain information, where applicable, as to any other listing, if any, on The Nasdaq Capital Market or any securities market or other securities exchange of the securities covered by the prospectus supplement. Underwriters may make a market in our ordinary shares, but will not be obligated to do so and may discontinue any market making at any time without notice. We can make no assurance as to the liquidity of or the existence, development or maintenance of trading markets for any of the securities.

 

In order to facilitate the offering of the securities, certain persons participating in the offering may engage in transactions that stabilize, maintain or otherwise affect the price of the securities. This may include over-allotments or short sales of the securities, which involve the sale by persons participating in the offering of more securities than we sold to them. In these circumstances, these persons would cover such over-allotments or short positions by making purchases in the open market or by exercising their over-allotment option. In addition, these persons may stabilize or maintain the price of the securities by bidding for or purchasing the applicable security in the open market or by imposing penalty bids, whereby selling concessions allowed to dealers participating in the offering may be reclaimed if the securities sold by them are repurchased in connection with stabilization transactions. The effect of these transactions may be to stabilize or maintain the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market. These transactions may be discontinued at any time.

 

The underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in other transactions with us, or perform other services for us, in the ordinary course of their business.

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF SHARE CAPITAL

 

The following description of the material terms of the share capital of VivoPower includes a summary of specified provisions of the amended and restated articles of association of VivoPower. Please note that this summary is not intended to be exhaustive. For further information please refer to the full version of our amended and restated articles of association, which is included as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is part.

 

General

 

We are incorporated as a public company with limited liability and our affairs are governed by our articles of association and the laws of England.

 

The following description summarizes the most important terms of our share capital. We have adopted an amended and restated articles of association, and this description summarizes the provisions that are included therein. Because it is only a summary, it does not contain all the information that may be important to you. For a complete description of the matters set forth in this “Description of Share Capital” section, you should refer to our amended and restated articles of association, which is included as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is part, and to the applicable provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (the “Companies Act”).

 

Our ordinary shares have the rights and restrictions described in the subsection entitled “Key Provisions in our Articles of Association.”

 

We are not permitted under English law to hold our own shares unless they are repurchased by us and held in treasury.

 

Key Provisions in our Articles of Association

 

The following is a summary of certain key provisions of our articles of association.

 

Objects and Purposes

 

The Companies Act abolished the need for an objects clause and, as such, our objects are unrestricted.

 

Shares and Rights Attaching to Them

 

General

 

Other than the voting rights described herein, all ordinary shares have the same rights and rank pari passu in all respects. Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act and any other relevant legislation, our shares may be issued with such preferred, deferred or other rights, or such restrictions, whether in relation to dividends, returns of capital, voting or otherwise, as may be determined by ordinary resolution (or, failing any such determination, as the directors may determine). We may also issue shares which are, or are liable to be, redeemed at the option of us or the holder.

 

Voting Rights

 

The holders of ordinary shares are entitled to vote at general meetings of shareholders. Each ordinary shareholder is entitled, on a show of hands, to one vote; and on a poll, to one vote for each ordinary share held. For as long as any ordinary shares are held in a settlement system by the Depository Trust Company, all votes shall take place on a poll.

 

In the case of joint holders of a share, the vote of the joint holder whose name appears first on the register of members in respect of the joint holding shall be accepted to the exclusion of the votes of the other joint holders.

 

A shareholder is entitled to appoint another person as his proxy (or in the case of a corporation, a corporative representative) to exercise all or any of his rights to attend and to speak and vote at a general meeting.

 

Capital Calls

 

Under our articles of association, the liability of our shareholders is limited to the amount, if any, unpaid on the shares held by them.

 

 

The directors may from time to time make calls on shareholders in respect of any monies unpaid on their shares, whether in respect of nominal value of the shares or by way of premium. Shareholders are required to pay called amounts on shares subject to receiving at least 14 clear days' notice specifying the time and place for payment. “Clear days” notice means calendar days and excludes the date of mailing, the date of receipt or deemed receipt of the notice and the date of the meeting itself. If a shareholder fails to pay any part of a call, the directors may serve further notice naming another day not being less than 14 clear days from the date of the further notice requiring payment and stating that in the event of non-payment the shares in respect of which the call was made will be liable to be forfeited. Subsequent forfeiture requires a resolution by the directors.

 

Restrictions on Voting Where Sums Overdue on Shares

 

None of our shareholders (whether in person by proxy or, in the case of a corporate member, by a duly authorized representative) shall (unless the directors otherwise determine) be entitled to vote at any general meeting or at any separate class meeting in respect of any share held by him unless all calls or other sums payable by him in respect of that share have been paid.

 

Dividends

 

The directors may pay interim and final dividends in accordance with the respective rights and restrictions attached to any share or class of share, if it appears to them that they are justified by the profits available for distribution.

 

Unless otherwise provided by the rights attaching to shares, all dividends shall be declared and paid according to the amounts paid up on the shares on which the dividend is paid, and apportioned and paid proportionally to the amounts paid up on the shares during any portion or portions of the period in respect of which the dividend is paid.

 

Any dividend which has remained unclaimed for 12 years from the date when it became due for payment shall, if the directors resolve, be forfeited and cease to remain owing by us. In addition, we will not be considered a trustee with respect to, or liable to pay interest on, the amount of any payment into a separate account by the directors or any unclaimed dividend or other sum payable on or in respect of a share.

 

We may cease to send any payment in respect of any dividend payable in respect of a share if:

 

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in respect of at least two consecutive dividends payable on that share the check or warrant has been returned undelivered or remains uncashed (or another method of payment has failed);

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in respect of one dividend payable on that share the check or warrant has been returned undelivered or remains uncashed, or another method of payment has failed, and reasonable inquiries have failed to establish any new address or account of the recipient;

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a recipient does not specify an address, or does not specify an account of a type prescribed by the directors, or other details necessary in order to make a payment of a dividend by the means by which the directors have decided that a payment is to be made, or by which the recipient has elected to receive payment, and such address or details are necessary in order for us to make the relevant payment in accordance with such decision or election, but, subject to the articles of association, we may recommence sending checks or warrants or using another method of payment for dividends payable on that share if the person(s) entitled so request and have supplied in writing a new address or account to be used for that purpose.

 

The directors may, with the authority of an ordinary resolution of the Company, offer to shareholders the right to elect to receive, in lieu of a dividend, an allotment of new shares credited as fully paid. The directors may also direct payment of a dividend wholly or partly by the distribution of specific assets.

 

Distribution of Assets on Winding-up

 

If the Company is wound up, the liquidator may, with the sanction of a special resolution and any other sanction required by law, divide among the members in specie the whole or any part of the assets of the Company and may, for that purpose, value any assets and determine how the division shall be carried out as between the members or different classes of members. The liquidator may, with the like sanction, vest the whole or any part of the assets in trustees upon such trusts for the benefit of the members as he may with the like sanction determine, but no member shall be compelled to accept any assets upon which there is a liability.

 

 

Variation of Rights

 

The rights attached to any class may be varied, either while we are a going concern or during or in contemplation of a winding up (a) in such manner (if any) as may be provided by those rights; or (b) in the absence of any such provision, with the consent in writing of the holders of three-quarters in nominal value of the issued shares of that class (excluding any shares of that class held as treasury shares), or with the sanction of a special resolution passed at a separate meeting of the holders of the shares of that class, but not otherwise.

 

Transfer of Shares

 

All of our shares in certificated form may be transferred by an instrument of transfer in any usual or common form or any form acceptable to the directors and permitted by the Companies Act and any other relevant legislation.

 

The directors may, in their absolute discretion, refuse to register the transfer of a share in certificated form which is not fully paid. They may also refuse to register a transfer of a share in certificated form (whether fully paid or not) unless the instrument of transfer: (a) is lodged, duly stamped, at our registered office or at such other place as the directors may appoint and (except in the case of a transfer by a financial institution where a certificate has not been issued in respect of the share) is accompanied by the certificate for the share to which it relates and such other evidence as the directors may reasonably require to show the right of the transferor to make the transfer; (b) is in respect of only one class of share; and (c) is in favor of not more than four transferees.

 

Alteration of Capital

 

We may, by ordinary resolution, consolidate and divide all or any of our share capital into shares of larger amount than our existing shares; and sub-divide our shares, or any of them, into shares of a smaller amount than our existing shares; and determine that, as between the shares resulting from the sub-division, any of them may have any preference or advantage as compared with the others.

 

Pre-emption Rights

 

There are no rights of pre-emption under our articles of association in respect of transfers of issued ordinary shares. In certain circumstances, our shareholders may have statutory pre-emption rights under the Companies Act in respect of the allotment of new shares in our company. These statutory pre-emption rights, when applicable, would require us to offer new shares for allotment to existing shareholders on a pro rata basis before allotting them to other persons. In such circumstances, the procedure for the exercise of such statutory pre-emption rights would be set out in the documentation by which such ordinary shares would be offered to our shareholders. These statutory pre-emption rights may be disapplied by a special resolution passed by shareholders in a general meeting or a specific provision in our articles of association.

 

Directors

 

Number

 

Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, a majority of the directors may from time to time fix the maximum number of directors and unless so fixed the number of directors (other than alternate directors) shall not be subject to any maximum. The minimum number shall not be less than two.

 

Classification

 

The directors of VivoPower shall be divided into three classes, as nearly equal in number as possible and designated as Class A, Class B and Class C. At each succeeding annual general meeting of VivoPower, successors to the class of directors whose term expires at that annual general meeting shall be elected for a three-year term.

 

Appointment of Directors

 

The directors may appoint a person who is willing to act as a director, and is permitted by law to do so, to be a director, either to fill a vacancy or as an additional director.

 

Termination of a Director’s Appointment

 

A director may be removed with the approval of all of the other directors and a person would cease to be a director as the result of certain other circumstances as set out in our articles of association, including resignation, by law and continuous non-attendance at board meetings. Directors are not subject to retirement at a specified age limit under our articles of association.

 

 

Borrowing Powers

 

Under our directors’ general power to manage our business, our directors may exercise all our powers to borrow money and to mortgage or charge our undertaking, property and uncalled capital or parts thereof and to issue debentures and other securities, whether outright or as collateral security for any debt, liability or obligation of ours or of any third party.

 

Quorum

 

The quorum necessary for the transaction of business of the directors may be fixed from time to time by the directors and unless so fixed shall be two. Provided that a director declares his interest (as outlined in the subsection entitled “–Directors’ Interests and Restrictions” below) a director may vote as a director in regard to any transaction in which he is interested or upon any matter arising therefrom and if he shall so vote his vote shall be counted and he shall be counted in the quorum present at the meeting (aside from in relation to counting towards quorum in relation to the authorization of a director's conflict).

 

Directors’ Interests and Restrictions

 

Subject to the provisions of the Companies Act, and provided that he has disclosed in accordance with English law the nature and extent of any material interests of his, a director notwithstanding his office:

 

●

may be a party to, or otherwise interested in, any transaction or arrangement with the Company or in which the Company is otherwise interested;

●

may be a director or other officer of, or be employed by, or hold any position with, or be a party to any transaction or arrangement with, or otherwise interested in, any body corporate in which the Company is interested; and

●

notwithstanding the fact that a proposed decision of the directors concerns or relates to any matter in which a director has, or may have, directly or indirectly, any kind of interest whatsoever, that director may participate in the decision-making process for both quorum and voting purposes although any director facing such a conflict is not to be counted as participating in the decision to authorize the conflict for quorum or voting purposes.

 

A director shall not, by reason of his office, be accountable to the Company for any benefit which he derives from any such office or employment or from any such transaction or arrangement or from any interest in any such body corporate and no such transaction or arrangement shall be liable to be avoided on the ground of any such interest or benefit.

 

Remuneration

 

Until otherwise determined by ordinary resolution, the directors may determine the amount of fees to be paid to the directors for their services provided that any fees paid to the directors shall not exceed the amounts set out in the then applicable directors' remuneration policy approved by members for the purposes of section 439A of the Companies Act 2006.

 

Any director who holds any other office with us, or who serves on any committee of the directors, or who performs, or undertakes to perform, services which the directors consider go beyond the ordinary duties of a director may be paid such additional remuneration as the directors may determine.

 

The directors may also be paid all reasonable expenses properly incurred by them in connection with the exercise of their powers and the discharge of their responsibilities as directors.

 

Share Qualification of Directors

 

Our articles of association do not require a director to hold any shares in us by way of qualification. A director who is not a member shall nevertheless be entitled to attend and speak at general meetings.

 

 

Indemnity of Officers

 

Subject to the provisions of any relevant legislation, each of our directors and other officers (excluding an auditor) may be entitled to be indemnified by us against all liabilities incurred by him in the execution and discharge of his duties or in relation to those duties. The Companies Act renders void an indemnity for a director against any liability attaching to him in connection with any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust in relation to the company of which he is a director.

 

Shareholders Meetings

 

Calling of General Meetings

 

A general meeting may be called by a majority of the directors, the chairman of the board of directors or the chief executive officer. The directors are also required to call a general meeting once we have received requests to hold a general meeting from shareholders representing at least 50% of the paid up capital of the company entitled to vote at a general meeting.

 

Quorum of Meetings

 

No business shall be transacted at any meeting unless a quorum is present. Two persons entitled to vote upon the business to be transacted, each being a member or a proxy for a member or a duly authorized representative of a corporation which is a member (including for this purpose two persons who are proxies or corporate representatives of the same member), shall be a quorum.

 

Attendance

 

The directors or the chairman of the meeting may direct that any person wishing to attend any general meeting should submit to and comply with such searches or other security arrangements as they consider appropriate in the circumstances.

 

The directors may make arrangements for simultaneous attendance and participation by electronic means allowing persons not present together at the same place to attend, speak and vote at general meetings.

 

Limitation on Owning Securities

 

Our articles of association do not restrict in any way the ownership or voting of our shares by non-residents.

 

Disclosure of Interests in Shares

 

If we serve a demand on a person under section 793 of the Companies Act (which requires a person to disclose an interest in shares), that person will be required to disclose any interest he has in our shares. Failure to disclose any interest can result in the following sanctions: suspension of the right to attend or vote (whether in person or by representative or proxy) at any general meeting or at any separate meeting of the holders of any class or on any poll; and where the interest in shares represent at least 0.25% of their class (excluding treasury shares) also the withholding of any dividend payable in respect of those shares and the restriction of the transfer of any shares (subject to certain exceptions).

 

Exchange Controls

 

Other than applicable taxation, anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing law and regulation and certain economic sanctions which may be in force from time to time, there are no English laws or regulation, or any provision of our articles of association, which would prevent the import or export of capital or the remittance of dividends, interest or other payments by us to holders of our ordinary shares who are not residents of the U.K. on a general basis. 

 

 

Differences in Corporate Law

 

The applicable provisions of the Companies Act 2006 differ from laws applicable to U.S. corporations and their shareholders. Set forth below is a summary of certain differences between the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 applicable to us and the Delaware General Corporation Law relating to shareholders’ rights and protections. This summary is not intended to be a complete discussion of the respective rights and it is qualified in its entirety by reference to Delaware law and English law.

 

	England and Wales		Delaware
Number of Directors	Under the Companies Act 2006, a public limited company must have at least two directors and the number of directors may be fixed by or in the manner provided in a company’s articles of association.		Under Delaware law, a corporation must have at least one director and the number of directors shall be fixed by or in the manner provided in the bylaws.
Removal of Directors	Under the Companies Act 2006, shareholders may remove a director without cause by an ordinary resolution (which is passed by a simple majority of those voting in person or by proxy at a general meeting) irrespective of any provisions of any service contract the director has with the company, provided 28 clear days’ notice of the resolution has been given to the company and its shareholders. On receipt of notice of an intended resolution to remove a director, the company must forthwith send a copy of the notice to the director concerned. Certain other procedural requirements under the Companies Act 2006 must also be followed such as allowing the director to make representations against his or her removal either at the meeting or in writing.		Under Delaware law, any director or the entire board of directors may be removed, with or without cause, by the holders of a majority of the shares then entitled to vote at an election of directors, except (a) unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise, in the case of a corporation whose board of directors is classified, shareholders may effect such removal only for cause, or (b) in the case of a corporation having cumulative voting, if less than the entire board of directors is to be removed, no director may be removed without cause if the votes cast against his removal would be sufficient to elect him if then cumulatively voted at an election of the entire board of directors, or, if there are classes of directors, at an election of the class of directors of which he is a part.
Vacancies on the Board of Directors	Under English law, the procedure by which directors (other than a company’s initial directors) are appointed is generally set out in a company’s articles of association, provided that where two or more persons are appointed as directors of a public limited company by resolution of the shareholders at a general meeting, resolutions appointing each director must be voted on individually unless the shareholders present vote to disapply this requirement without any vote in opposition.		Under Delaware law, vacancies and newly created directorships may be filled by a majority of the directors then in office (even though less than a quorum) or by a sole remaining director unless (a) otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or by-laws of the corporation or (b) the certificate of incorporation directs that a particular class of stock is to elect such director, in which case a majority of the other directors elected by such class, or a sole remaining director elected by such class, will fill such vacancy.
Annual General Meeting	Under the Companies Act 2006, a public limited company must hold an annual general meeting in each six-month period following the company’s annual accounting reference date.		Under Delaware law, the annual meeting of stockholders shall be held at such place, on such date and at such time as may be designated from time to time by the board of directors or as provided in the certificate of incorporation or by the bylaws.
General Meeting	Under the Companies Act 2006, a general meeting of the shareholders of a public limited company may be called by the directors.   Shareholders holding at least 5% of the paid-up capital of the company carrying voting rights at general meetings can require the directors to call a general meeting and, if the directors fail to do so within a prescribed period, may themselves call a general meeting.		Under Delaware law, special meetings of the stockholders may be called by the board of directors or by such person or persons as may be authorized by the certificate of incorporation or by the bylaws.

 

 

Notice of General Meetings	Under the Companies Act 2006, 21 clear days’ notice must be given for an annual general meeting and any resolutions to be proposed at the meeting. Subject to a company’s articles of association providing for a longer period, at least 14 clear days’ notice is required for any other general meeting. In addition, certain matters, such as resolutions to remove directors or auditors, require special notice, which is 28 clear days’ notice. The shareholders of a company may in all cases consent to a shorter notice period, the proportion of shareholders’ consent required being 100% of those entitled to attend and vote in the case of an annual general meeting and, in the case of any other general meeting, a majority in number of the shareholders having a right to attend and vote at the meeting, being a majority who together hold not less than 95% in nominal value of the shares giving a right to attend and vote at the meeting.		Under Delaware law, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation or bylaws, written notice of any meeting of the stockholders must be given to each stockholder entitled to vote at the meeting not less than 10 nor more than 60 days before the date of the meeting and shall specify the place, date, hour, and purpose or purposes of the meeting.
Proxy	Under the Companies Act 2006, at any meeting of shareholders, a shareholder may designate another person to attend, speak and vote at the meeting on their behalf by proxy.		Under Delaware law, at any meeting of stockholders, a stockholder may designate another person to act for such stockholder by proxy, but no such proxy shall be voted or acted upon after three years from its date, unless the proxy provides for a longer period. A director of a Delaware corporation may not issue a proxy representing the director’s voting rights as a director.
Pre-emptive Rights	Under the Companies Act 2006, “equity securities”, being (i) shares in the company other than shares that, with respect to dividends and capital, carry a right to participate only up to a specified amount in a distribution (“ordinary shares”) or (ii) rights to subscribe for, or to convert securities into, ordinary shares, proposed to be allotted for cash must be offered first to the existing equity shareholders in the company in proportion to the respective nominal value of their holdings, unless an exception applies or a special resolution to the contrary has been passed by shareholders in a general meeting or the articles of association provide otherwise (in each case in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006).		Under Delaware law, shareholders have no preemptive rights to subscribe to additional issues of stock or to any security convertible into such stock unless, and except to the extent that, such rights are expressly provided for in the certificate of incorporation.
Authority to Allot	Under the Companies Act 2006, the directors of a company must not allot shares or grant rights to subscribe for or to convert any security into shares unless an exception applies or an ordinary resolution to the contrary has been passed by shareholders in a general meeting or the articles of association provide otherwise (in each case in accordance with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006).		Under Delaware law, if the corporation’s charter or certificate of incorporation so provides, the board of directors has the power to authorize the issuance of stock. It may authorize capital stock to be issued for consideration consisting of cash, any tangible or intangible property or any benefit to the corporation or any combination thereof. It may determine the amount of such consideration by approving a formula. In the absence of actual fraud in the transaction, the judgment of the directors as to the value of such consideration is conclusive.

 

 

Liability of Directors and Officers

Under the Companies Act 2006, any provision (whether contained in a company’s articles of association or any contract or otherwise) that purports to exempt a director of a company, to any extent, from any liability that would otherwise attach to him in connection with any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust in relation to the company is void.

Under Delaware law, a corporation’s certificate of incorporation may include a provision eliminating or limiting the personal liability of a director or officer to the corporation and its stockholders for damages arising from a breach of fiduciary duty as a director or officer. However, no provision can limit the liability of:

 

	Any provision by which a company directly or indirectly provides an indemnity, to any extent, for a director of the company or of an associated company against any liability attaching to him in connection with any negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust in relation to the company of which he is a director is also void except as permitted by the Companies Act 2006, which provides exceptions for the company to (a) purchase and maintain insurance against such liability; (b) provide a “qualifying third party indemnity”(being an indemnity against liability incurred by the director to a person other than the company or an associated company as long as he is successful in defending the claim or criminal proceedings or in obtaining relief from the court); and (c) provide a “qualifying pension scheme indemnity”(being an indemnity against liability incurred in connection with the company’s activities as trustee of an occupational pension plan).		●	a director or officer for any breach of the director’s or officer’s duty of loyalty to the corporation or its stockholders;
			●	a director or officer for acts or omissions not in good faith or that involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law;
			●	a director for intentional or negligent payment of unlawful dividends or stock purchases or redemptions; or
			●	a director or officer for any transaction from which the director derives an improper personal benefit.

 

Voting Rights

Under English law, unless a poll is demanded by the shareholders of a company or is required by the chairman of the meeting or by the company’s articles of association, shareholders shall vote on all resolutions on a show of hands. Under the Companies Act 2006, a poll may be demanded by (a) not fewer than five shareholders having the right to vote on the resolution; (b) any shareholder(s) representing not less than 10% of the total voting rights of all the shareholders having the right to vote on the resolution; or (c) any shareholder(s) holding shares in the company conferring a right to vote on the resolution being shares on which an aggregate sum has been paid up equal to not less than 10% of the total sum paid up on all the shares conferring that right. A company’s articles of association may provide more extensive rights for shareholders to call a poll.   Under English law, an ordinary resolution is passed on a show of hands if it is approved by a simple majority (more than 50%) of the votes cast by shareholders present (in person or by proxy) and entitled to vote. If a poll is demanded, an ordinary resolution is passed if it is approved by holders representing a simple majority of the total voting rights of shareholders present, in person or by proxy, who, being entitled to vote, vote on the resolution. Special resolutions require the affirmative vote of not less than 75% of the votes cast by shareholders present, in person or by proxy, at the meeting.

Delaware law provides that, unless otherwise provided in the certificate of incorporation, each stockholder is entitled to one vote for each share of capital stock held by such stockholder.

 

 

Shareholder vote on Certain Transactions	The Companies Act 2006 provides for schemes of arrangement, which are arrangements or compromises between a company and any class of shareholders or creditors that are used in certain types of reconstructions, amalgamations, capital reorganizations or takeovers. These arrangements require:			Generally, under Delaware law, unless the certificate of incorporation provides for the vote of a larger portion of the stock, completion of a merger, consolidation, sale, lease or exchange of all or substantially all of a corporation’s assets or dissolution requires:
	●	the approval at a shareholders’ or creditors’ meeting convened by order of the court, of a majority in number of shareholders or creditors representing 75% in value of the capital held by, or debt owed to, the class of shareholders, or class thereof present and voting, either in person or by proxy; and		● ●	the approval of the board of directors; and approval by the vote of the holders of a majority of the outstanding stock or, if the certificate of incorporation provides for more or less than one vote per share, a majority of the votes of the outstanding stock of a corporation entitled to vote on the matter.
	●	the approval of the court.
Standard of Conduct for Directors	Under English law, a director owes various statutory and fiduciary duties to the company, including:			Delaware law does not contain specific provisions setting forth the standard of conduct of a director. The scope of the fiduciary duties of directors is generally determined by the courts of the State of Delaware. In general, directors have a duty to act without self-interest, on a well-informed basis and in a manner they reasonably believe to be in the best interest of the stockholders. Directors of a Delaware corporation owe fiduciary duties of care and loyalty to the corporation and to its shareholders. The duty of care generally requires that a director act in good faith, with the care that an ordinarily prudent person would exercise under similar circumstances. Under this duty, a director must inform himself of all material information reasonably available regarding a significant transaction. The duty of loyalty requires that a director act in a manner he reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the corporation. He must not use his corporate position for personal gain or advantage. In general, but subject to certain exceptions, actions of a director are presumed to have been made on an informed basis, in good faith and in the honest belief that the action taken was in the best interests of the corporation. However, this presumption may be rebutted by evidence of a breach of one of the fiduciary duties. Delaware courts have also imposed a heightened standard of conduct upon directors of a Delaware corporation who take any action designed to defeat a threatened change in control of the corporation.
	●	to act in the way he considers, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of its shareholders as a whole, subject in certain specified circumstances to consider or act in the interests of the creditors of the company;
	●	to avoid a situation in which he has, or can have, a direct or indirect interest that conflicts, or possibly conflicts, with the interests of the company;
	●	to act in accordance with the company’s constitution and only exercise his powers for the purposes for which they are conferred;
	●	to exercise independent judgement;
	●	to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence;
	●	not to accept benefits from a third party conferred by reason of his being a director or doing, or not doing, anything as a director; and

 

 

	●	a duty to declare any interest that he has, whether directly or indirectly, in a proposed or existing transaction or arrangement with the company.
				In addition, under Delaware law, when the board of directors of a Delaware corporation approves the sale or break-up of a corporation, the board of directors may, in certain circumstances, have a duty to obtain the highest value reasonably available to the shareholders.

 

Shareholder Litigation	Under English law, generally, the company, rather than its shareholders, is the proper claimant in an action in respect of a wrong done to the company or where there is an irregularity in the company’s internal management. Notwithstanding this general position, the Companies Act 2006 provides that (i) a court may allow a shareholder to bring a derivative claim (that is, an action in respect of and on behalf of the company) in respect of a cause of action arising from an act or omission involving a director’s negligence, default, breach of duty or breach of trust and (ii) a shareholder may bring a claim for a court order where the company’s affairs have been or are being conducted in a manner that is unfairly prejudicial to some or all of its shareholders.			Under Delaware law, a stockholder may initiate a derivative action to enforce a right of a corporation if the corporation fails to enforce the right itself. The complaint must:
				●	state that the plaintiff was a stockholder at the time of the transaction of which the plaintiff complains or that the plaintiffs shares thereafter devolved on the plaintiff by operation of law; and
				●	allege with particularity the efforts made by the plaintiff to obtain the action the plaintiff desires from the directors and the reasons for the plaintiff’s failure to obtain the action; or
				●	State the reasons for not making the effort.
				Additionally, the plaintiff must remain a stockholder through the duration of the derivative suit. The action will not be dismissed or compromised without the approval of the Delaware Court of Chancery.

 

Other UK Law Considerations

 

Squeeze-out

 

Under the Companies Act, if a takeover offer (as defined in section 974 of the Companies Act) is made for the shares of a company and the offeror were to acquire, or unconditionally contract to acquire:

 

●

not less than 90% in value of the shares to which the takeover offer relates (the “Takeover Offer Shares”); and

 

 

●

where those shares are voting shares, not less than 90% of the voting rights attached to the Takeover Offer Shares, the offeror could acquire compulsorily the remaining 10% within three months of the last day on which its offer can be accepted. It would do so by sending a notice to outstanding shareholders telling them that it will acquire compulsorily their Takeover Offer Shares and then, six weeks later, it would execute a transfer of the outstanding Takeover Offer Shares in its favor and pay the consideration to the company, which would hold the consideration on trust for outstanding shareholders. The consideration offered to the shareholders whose Takeover Offer Shares are acquired compulsorily under the Companies Act must, in general, be the same as the consideration that was available under the takeover offer.

 

Sell-out

 

The Companies Act also gives minority shareholders a right to be bought out in certain circumstances by an offeror who has made a takeover offer (as defined in Section 974 of the Companies Act). If a takeover offer related to all the shares of a company and, at any time before the end of the period within which the offer could be accepted, the offeror held or had agreed to acquire not less than 90% of the shares to which the offer relates, any holder of the shares to which the offer related who had not accepted the offer could by a written communication to the offeror require it to acquire those shares. The offeror is required to give any shareholder notice of his or her right to be bought out within one month of that right arising. The offeror may impose a time limit on the rights of the minority shareholders to be bought out, but that period cannot end less than three months after the end of the acceptance period. If a shareholder exercises his or her rights, the offeror is bound to acquire those shares on the terms of the offer or on such other terms as may be agreed.

 

Disclosure of Interest in Shares

 

Pursuant to Part 22 of the Companies Act, a company is empowered by notice in writing to require any person whom the company knows to be, or has reasonable cause to believe to be, interested in the company’s shares or at any time during the three years immediately preceding the date on which the notice is issued to have been so interested, within a reasonable time to disclose to the company details of that person’s interest and (so far as is within such person’s knowledge) details of any other interest that subsists or subsisted in those shares.

 

Dividends

 

Under English law, before a company can lawfully make a distribution, it must ensure that it has sufficient distributable reserves. A company’s distributable reserves are its accumulated, realized profits, so far as not previously utilized by distribution or capitalization, less its accumulated, realized losses, so far as not previously written off in a reduction or reorganization of capital duly made.

 

In addition to having sufficient distributable reserves, a public company will not be permitted to make a distribution if, at the time, the amount of its net assets (that is, the aggregate of the company’s assets less the aggregate of its liabilities) is less than the aggregate of its issued and paid-up share capital and undistributable reserves, or if the distribution would result in the amount of its net assets being less than that aggregate.

 

Purchase of Own Shares

 

Under English law, a public limited company may purchase its own shares only out of the distributable profits of the company or the proceeds of a new issue of shares made for the purpose of financing the purchase. A public limited company may not purchase its own shares if as a result of the purchase there would no longer be any issued shares of the company other than redeemable shares or shares held as treasury shares.

 

Subject to the foregoing, because the Nasdaq Capital Market is not a “recognized investment exchange” under the Companies Act, a company may purchase its own fully paid shares only pursuant to a purchase contract authorized by ordinary resolution of the holders of its ordinary shares before the purchase takes place. Any authority will not be effective if any shareholder from whom the company proposes to purchase shares votes on the resolution and the resolution would not have been passed if such shareholder had not done so. The resolution authorizing the purchase must specify a date, not being later than five years after the passing of the resolution, on which the authority to purchase is to expire.

 

A share buy back by a company of its ordinary shares will give rise to UK stamp duty at the rate of 0.5% of the amount or value of the consideration payable by the company, and such stamp duty will be paid by the company.

 

Our articles of association do not have conditions governing changes in our capital which are more stringent than those required by law.

 

 

Statutory Pre-emption Rights

 

Under English law, a company must not allot equity securities to a person on any terms unless the following conditions are satisfied:

 

●

it has made an offer to each person who holds ordinary shares in the company to allot to them on the same or more favorable terms a proportion of those securities that is as nearly as practicable equal to the proportion in nominal value held by them of the ordinary share capital of the company; and

●

the period during which any such offer may be accepted has expired or the company has received notice of the acceptance or refusal of every offer so made.

 

For these purposes “equity securities” means ordinary shares in the company or rights to subscribe for, or to convert securities into, ordinary shares in the company. “Ordinary shares” means shares other than shares that, with respect to dividends and capital, carry a right to participate only up to a specified amount in a distribution.

 

The statutory pre-emption rights are subject to certain exceptions, including the issue of ordinary shares for non-cash consideration, an allotment of bonus shares and the allotment of equity securities pursuant to an employees’ share scheme. The statutory pre-emption rights may also be disapplied with the approval of 75% of shareholders.

 

Shareholder Rights

 

Certain rights granted under the Companies Act, including the right to requisition a general meeting or require a resolution to be put to shareholders at the annual general meeting, are only available to our members. For English law purposes, our members are the persons who are registered as the owners of the legal title to the shares and whose names are recorded in our register of members. In the case of shares held in a settlement system operated by the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), the registered member will be DTC's nominee, Cede & Co. If a person who holds their ordinary shares in DTC wishes to exercise certain of the rights granted under the Companies Act, they may be required to first take steps to withdraw their ordinary shares from the settlement system operated by DTC and become the registered holder of the shares in our register of members. A withdrawal of shares from DTC may have tax implications.

 

UK City Code on Takeovers and Mergers

 

The Company is subject to the Takeover Code as it is one of the types of company the Takeover Panel specifies it regulates (set out in Section 3(a) of the Code). However, the Company does not consider that it is subject to the Takeover Code in connection with the offering.

 

History of Security Issuances

 

We were incorporated on February 1, 2016 with an issued share capital of 50,000 ordinary shares of nominal value of £1.00 each. Since incorporation there have been the following changes to our issued share capital:

 

●

pursuant to the authority granted by a resolution, passed as an ordinary resolution by our shareholders on August 3, 2016: that the existing 50,000 ordinary shares of £1 each in the capital of the Company be sub-divided into 5,514,375 ordinary shares of £ 0.00906721 each;

●

pursuant to the authority granted by a resolution, passed as an ordinary resolution by our shareholders on August 3, 2016: that a further 204,504 ordinary shares of £ 0.00906721 each be allotted up to an aggregate nominal amount of £1,854.29;

●

pursuant to the authority granted by a resolution, passed as an ordinary resolution by our shareholders on August 3, 2016: that the share capital be redenominated from Great British Pounds to U.S. Dollars;

●

pursuant to the authority granted by a resolution, passed as an ordinary resolution by our shareholders on October 6, 2020: that shares in the Company be allotted up to an aggregate nominal amount of US $180,000;

●

pursuant to the authority granted by a resolution, passed as an ordinary resolution by our shareholders on November 10, 2022: that shares in the Company be allotted up to an aggregate nominal amount of US $180,000;

●

pursuant to the authority granted by a resolution, passed as an ordinary resolution by our shareholders on July 6, 2023: that a reverse stock split of its outstanding Ordinary Shares be implemented; and

●

pursuant to the authority granted by a resolution, passed as an ordinary resolution by our shareholders on December 28, 2023: that shares in the Company be allotted up to an aggregate nominal amount of US $3,600,000.

 

 

Transfer Agent and Registrar

 

The transfer agent and registrar for our ordinary shares is Computershare Trust Company, N.A. The transfer agent and registrar’s address is 150 Royall Street, Canton, MA, 02021.

 

Listing

 

Our ordinary shares are listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “VVPR.”

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES

 

The following description, together with the additional information we include in any applicable prospectus supplements, summarizes the material terms and provisions of the debt securities that we may offer under this prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any future debt securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any debt securities that we may offer in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. If we so indicate in a prospectus supplement, the terms of any debt securities offered under such prospectus supplement may differ from the terms we describe below, and to the extent the terms set forth in a prospectus supplement differ from the terms described below, the terms set forth in the prospectus supplement shall control.

 

We may sell from time to time, in one or more offerings under this prospectus, debt securities, which may be senior or subordinated. We will issue any such senior debt securities under a senior indenture that we will enter into with a trustee to be named in the senior indenture. We will issue any such subordinated debt securities under a subordinated indenture, which we will enter into with a trustee to be named in the subordinated indenture. We have filed forms of these documents as exhibits to the registration statement, of which this prospectus is a part. We use the term “indentures” to refer to either the senior indenture or the subordinated indenture, as applicable. The indentures will be qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as in effect on the date of the indenture. We use the term “debenture trustee” to refer to either the trustee under the senior indenture or the trustee under the subordinated indenture, as applicable.

 

The following summaries of material provisions of the senior debt securities, the subordinated debt securities and the indentures are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the indenture applicable to a particular series of debt securities.

 

General

 

Each indenture provides that debt securities may be issued from time to time in one or more series and may be denominated and payable in foreign currencies or units based on or relating to foreign currencies. Neither indenture limits the amount of debt securities that may be issued thereunder, and each indenture provides that the specific terms of any series of debt securities shall be set forth in, or determined pursuant to, an authorizing resolution and/or a supplemental indenture, if any, relating to such series.

 

We will describe in each prospectus supplement the following terms relating to a series of debt securities:

 

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title or designation;

 

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the aggregate principal amount and any limit on the amount that may be issued;

 

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the currency or units based on or relating to currencies in which debt securities of such series are denominated and the currency or units in which principal or interest or both will or may be payable;

 

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whether we will issue the series of debt securities in global form, the terms of any global securities and who the depositary will be;

 

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the maturity date and the date or dates on which principal will be payable;

 

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the interest rate, which may be fixed or variable, or the method for determining the rate and the date interest will begin to accrue, the date or dates interest will be payable and the record dates for interest payment dates or the method for determining such dates;

 

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whether or not the debt securities will be secured or unsecured, and the terms of any secured debt;

 

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the terms of the subordination of any series of subordinated debt;

 

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the place or places where payments will be payable;

 

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our right, if any, to defer payment of interest and the maximum length of any such deferral period;

 

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the date, if any, after which, and the price at which, we may, at our option, redeem the series of debt securities pursuant to any optional redemption provisions;

 

 

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the date, if any, on which, and the price at which we are obligated, pursuant to any mandatory sinking fund provisions or otherwise, to redeem, or at the holder’s option to purchase, the series of debt securities;

 

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whether the indenture will restrict our ability to pay dividends, or will require us to maintain any asset ratios or reserves;

 

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whether we will be restricted from incurring any additional indebtedness;

 

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a discussion of any material or special U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to a series of debt securities;

 

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the denominations in which we will issue the series of debt securities, if other than denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof; and

 

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any other specific terms, preferences, rights or limitations of, or restrictions on, the debt securities. We may issue debt securities that provide for an amount less than their stated principal amount to be due and payable upon declaration of acceleration of their maturity pursuant to the terms of the indenture. We will provide you with information on the federal income tax considerations and other special considerations applicable to any of these debt securities in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

Conversion or Exchange Rights

 

We will set forth in the prospectus supplement the terms, if any, on which a series of debt securities may be convertible into or exchangeable for our ordinary shares or our other securities. We will include provisions as to whether conversion or exchange is mandatory, at the option of the holder or at our option. We may include provisions pursuant to which the number of ordinary shares or our other securities that the holders of the series of debt securities receive would be subject to adjustment.

 

Consolidation, Merger or Sale; No Protection in Event of a Change of Control or Highly Leveraged Transaction

 

The indentures do not contain any covenant that restricts our ability to merge or consolidate, or sell, convey, transfer or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of our assets. However, any successor to or acquirer of such assets must assume all of our obligations under the indentures or the debt securities, as appropriate.

 

Unless we state otherwise in the applicable prospectus supplement, the debt securities will not contain any provisions that may afford holders of the debt securities protection in the event we have a change of control or in the event of a highly leveraged transaction (whether or not such transaction results in a change of control), which could adversely affect holders of debt securities.

 

Events of Default Under the Indenture

 

The following are events of default under the indentures with respect to any series of debt securities that we may issue:

 

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if we fail to pay interest when due and our failure continues for 90 days and the time for payment has not been extended or deferred;

 

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if we fail to pay the principal, or premium, if any, when due and the time for payment has not been extended or delayed;

 

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if we fail to observe or perform any other covenant set forth in the debt securities of such series or the applicable indentures, other than a covenant specifically relating to and for the benefit of holders of another series of debt securities, and our failure continues for 90 days after we receive written notice from the debenture trustee or holders of not less than a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the applicable series; and

 

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if specified events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur as to us.

 

 

No event of default with respect to a particular series of debt securities (except as to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization) necessarily constitutes an event of default with respect to any other series of debt securities. The occurrence of an event of default may constitute an event of default under any bank credit agreements we may have in existence from time to time. In addition, the occurrence of certain events of default or an acceleration under the indenture may constitute an event of default under certain of our other indebtedness outstanding from time to time.

 

If an event of default with respect to debt securities of any series at the time outstanding occurs and is continuing, then the trustee or the holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series may, by a notice in writing to us (and to the debenture trustee if given by the holders), declare to be due and payable immediately the principal (or, if the debt securities of that series are discount securities, that portion of the principal amount as may be specified in the terms of that series) of and premium and accrued and unpaid interest, if any, on all debt securities of that series. Before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained with respect to debt securities of any series, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) may rescind and annul the acceleration if all events of default, other than the non-payment of accelerated principal, premium, if any, and interest, if any, with respect to debt securities of that series, have been cured or waived as provided in the applicable indenture (including payments or deposits in respect of principal, premium or interest that had become due other than as a result of such acceleration). We refer you to the prospectus supplement relating to any series of debt securities that are discount securities for the particular provisions relating to acceleration of a portion of the principal amount of such discount securities upon the occurrence of an event of default.

 

Subject to the terms of the indentures, if an event of default under an indenture shall occur and be continuing, the debenture trustee will be under no obligation to exercise any of its rights or powers under such indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of the applicable series of debt securities, unless such holders have offered the debenture trustee reasonable indemnity. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series will have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the debenture trustee, or exercising any trust or power conferred on the debenture trustee, with respect to the debt securities of that series, provided that:

 

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the direction so given by the holder is not in conflict with any law or the applicable indenture; and

 

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subject to its duties under the Trust Indenture Act, the debenture trustee need not take any action that might involve it in personal liability or might be unduly prejudicial to the holders not involved in the proceeding.

 

A holder of the debt securities of any series will only have the right to institute a proceeding under the indentures or to appoint a receiver or trustee, or to seek other remedies if:

 

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These limitations do not apply to a suit instituted by a holder of debt securities if we default in the payment of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on, the debt securities.

 

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the holder previously has given written notice to the debenture trustee of a continuing event of default with respect to that series;

 

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the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series have made written request, and such holders have offered reasonable indemnity to the debenture trustee to institute the proceeding as trustee; and

 

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the debenture trustee does not institute the proceeding, and does not receive from the holders of a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of that series (or at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) other conflicting directions within 60 days after the notice, request and offer.

 

We will periodically file statements with the applicable debenture trustee regarding our compliance with specified covenants in the applicable indenture.

 

Modification of Indenture; Waiver

 

The debenture trustee and we may change the applicable indenture without the consent of any holders with respect to specific matters, including:

 

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to fix any ambiguity, defect or inconsistency in the indenture; and

 

 

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to change anything that does not materially adversely affect the interests of any holder of debt securities of any series issued pursuant to such indenture.

 

In addition, under the indentures, the rights of holders of a series of debt securities may be changed by us and the debenture trustee with the written consent of the holders of at least a majority in aggregate principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of each series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) that is affected. However, the debenture trustee and we may make the following changes only with the consent of each holder of any outstanding debt securities affected:

 

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extending the fixed maturity of the series of debt securities;

 

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reducing the principal amount, reducing the rate of or extending the time of payment of interest, or any premium payable upon the redemption of any debt securities;

 

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reducing the principal amount of discount securities payable upon acceleration of maturity;

 

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making the principal of or premium or interest on any debt security payable in currency other than that stated in the debt security; or

 

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reducing the percentage of debt securities, the holders of which are required to consent to any amendment or waiver.

 

Except for certain specified provisions, the holders of at least a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series (or, at a meeting of holders of such series at which a quorum is present, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of such series represented at such meeting) may on behalf of the holders of all debt securities of that series waive our compliance with provisions of the indenture. The holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may on behalf of the holders of all the debt securities of such

 

series waive any past default under the indenture with respect to that series and its consequences, except a default in the payment of the principal of, premium or any interest on any debt security of that series or in respect of a covenant or provision, which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding debt security of the series affected; provided, however, that the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of any series may rescind an acceleration and its consequences, including any related payment default that resulted from the acceleration.

 

Discharge

 

Each indenture provides that we can elect to be discharged from our obligations with respect to one or more series of debt securities, except for obligations to:

 

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the transfer or exchange of debt securities of the series;

 

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replace stolen, lost or mutilated debt securities of the series;

 

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maintain paying agencies;

 

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hold monies for payment in trust;

 

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compensate and indemnify the trustee; and

 

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appoint any successor trustee.

 

In order to exercise our rights to be discharged with respect to a series, we must deposit with the trustee money or government obligations sufficient to pay all the principal of, the premium, if any, and interest on, the debt securities of the series on the dates payments are due.

 

 

Form, Exchange, and Transfer

 

We will issue the debt securities of each series only in fully registered form without coupons and, unless we otherwise specify in the applicable prospectus supplement, in denominations of $1,000 and any integral multiple thereof. The indentures provide that we may issue debt securities of a series in temporary or permanent global form and as book-entry securities that will be deposited with, or on behalf of, The Depository Trust Company or another depositary named by us and identified in a prospectus supplement with respect to that series.

 

At the option of the holder, subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global securities described in the applicable prospectus supplement, the holder of the debt securities of any series can exchange the debt securities for other debt securities of the same series, in any authorized denomination and of like tenor and aggregate principal amount.

 

Subject to the terms of the indentures and the limitations applicable to global securities set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement, holders of the debt securities may present the debt securities for exchange or for registration of transfer, duly endorsed or with the form of transfer endorsed thereon duly executed if so required by us or the security registrar, at the office of the security registrar or at the office of any transfer agent designated by us for this purpose. Unless otherwise provided in the debt securities that the holder presents for transfer or exchange or in the applicable indenture, we will make no service charge for any registration of transfer or exchange, but we may require payment of any taxes or other governmental charges.

 

We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement the security registrar, and any transfer agent in addition to the security registrar, that we initially designate for any debt securities. We may at any time designate additional transfer agents or rescind the designation of any transfer agent or approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts, except that we will be required to maintain a transfer agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of each series.

 

If we elect to redeem the debt securities of any series, we will not be required to:

 

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issue, register the transfer of, or exchange any debt securities of that series during a period beginning at the opening of business 15 days before the day of mailing of a notice of redemption of any debt securities that may be selected for redemption and ending at the close of business on the day of the mailing; or

 

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register the transfer of or exchange any debt securities so selected for redemption, in whole or in part, except the unredeemed portion of any debt securities we are redeeming in part.

 

Information Concerning the Debenture Trustee

 

The debenture trustee, other than during the occurrence and continuance of an event of default under the applicable indenture, undertakes to perform only those duties as are specifically set forth in the applicable indenture. Upon an event of default under an indenture, the debenture trustee under such indenture must use the same degree of care as a prudent person would exercise or use in the conduct of his or her own affairs. Subject to this provision, the debenture trustee is under no obligation to exercise any of the powers given it by the indentures at the request of any holder of debt securities unless it is offered reasonable security and indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities that it might incur.

 

Payment and Paying Agents

 

Unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, we will make payment of the interest on any debt securities on any interest payment date to the person in whose name the debt securities, or one or more predecessor securities, are registered at the close of business on the regular record date for the interest.

 

We will pay the principal of and any premium and interest due on the debt securities of a particular series at the office of the paying agents designated by us, except that unless we otherwise indicate in the applicable prospectus supplement, will we make interest payments by check which we will mail to the holder. Unless we otherwise indicate in a prospectus supplement, we will designate the corporate trust office of the debenture trustee in the City of New York as our sole paying agent for payments with respect to debt securities of each series. We will name in the applicable prospectus supplement any other paying agents that we initially designate for the debt securities of a particular series. We will maintain a paying agent in each place of payment for the debt securities of a particular series.

 

All money we pay to a paying agent or the debenture trustee for the payment of the principal of or any premium or interest on any debt securities which remains unclaimed at the end of two years after such principal, premium or interest has become due and payable will be repaid to us, and the holder of the security thereafter may look only to us for payment thereof.

 

Subordination of Subordinated Debt Securities

 

Our obligations pursuant to any subordinated debt securities will be unsecured and will be subordinate and junior in priority of payment to certain of our other indebtedness to the extent described in a prospectus supplement. The subordinated indenture does not limit the amount of senior indebtedness we may incur. It also does not limit us from issuing any other secured or unsecured debt.

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS

 

General

 

We may issue warrants to purchase our ordinary shares and/or debt securities in one or more series together with other securities or separately, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Below is a description of certain general terms and provisions of the warrants that we may offer. Particular terms of the warrants will be described in the warrant agreements and the prospectus supplement relating to the warrants.

 

The applicable prospectus supplement will contain, where applicable, the following terms of and other information relating to the warrants:

 

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the specific designation and aggregate number of, and the price at which we will issue, the warrants;

 

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the currency or currency units in which the offering price, if any, and the exercise price are payable;

 

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the designation, amount and terms of the securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants;

 

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if applicable, the exercise price for our ordinary shares and the number of ordinary shares to be received upon exercise;

 

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if applicable, the exercise price for our debt securities, the amount of debt securities to be received upon exercise, and a description of that series of debt securities;

 

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the date on which the right to exercise the warrants will begin and the date on which that right will expire or, if you may not continuously exercise the warrants throughout that period, the specific date or dates on which you may exercise the warrants;

 

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whether the warrants will be issued in fully registered form or bearer form, in definitive or global form or in any combination of these forms, although, in any case, the form of a warrant included in a unit will correspond to the form of the unit and of any security included in that unit;

 

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any applicable material U.S. federal income tax consequences and any applicable material U.K. tax consequences;

 

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the identity of the warrant agent for the warrants and of any other depositaries, execution or paying agents, transfer agents, registrars or other agents;

 

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the proposed listing, if any, of the warrants or any securities purchasable upon exercise of the warrants on any securities exchange;

 

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if applicable, the date from and after which the warrants and the ordinary shares and/or debt securities will be separately transferable;

 

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if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of the warrants that may be exercised at any one time;

 

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information with respect to book-entry procedures, if any;

 

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the anti-dilution provisions of the warrants, if any;

 

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any redemption or call provisions;

 

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whether the warrants may be sold separately or with other securities as parts of units; and

 

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any additional terms of the warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of the warrants.

 

Transfer Agent and Registrar

 

The transfer agent and registrar for any warrants will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF RIGHTS

 

General

 

We may issue rights to our shareholders to purchase our ordinary shares or the other securities described in this prospectus. We may offer rights separately or together with one or more additional rights, debt securities, ordinary shares, or warrants, or any combination of those securities in the form of units, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Each series of rights will be issued under a separate rights agreement to be entered into between us and a bank or trust company, as rights agent. The rights agent will act solely as our agent in connection with the certificates relating to the rights of the series of certificates and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust for or with any holders of rights certificates or beneficial owners of rights. The following description sets forth certain general terms and provisions of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate. The particular terms of the rights to which any prospectus supplement may relate and the extent, if any, to which the general provisions may apply to the rights so offered will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. To the extent that any particular terms of the rights, rights agreement or rights certificates described in a prospectus supplement differ from any of the terms described below, then the terms described below will be deemed to have been superseded by that prospectus supplement. We encourage you to read the applicable rights agreement and rights certificate for additional information before you decide whether to purchase any of our rights. We will provide in a prospectus supplement the following terms of the rights being issued:

 

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the date of determining the shareholders entitled to the rights distribution;

 

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the aggregate number of ordinary shares or other securities purchasable upon exercise of the rights;

 

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the exercise price;

 

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the aggregate number of rights issued;

 

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whether the rights are transferrable and the date, if any, on and after which the rights may be separately transferred;

 

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the date on which the right to exercise the rights will commence, and the date on which the right to exercise the rights will expire;

 

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the method by which holders of rights will be entitled to exercise;

 

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the conditions to the completion of the offering, if any;

 

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the withdrawal, termination and cancellation rights, if any;

 

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whether there are any backstop or standby purchaser or purchasers and the terms of their commitment, if any;

 

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whether shareholders are entitled to oversubscription rights, if any;

 

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any applicable material U.S. federal income tax considerations and any applicable material U.K. tax considerations; and

 

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any other terms of the rights, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the distribution, exchange and exercise of the rights, as applicable.

 

Each right will entitle the holder of rights to purchase for cash the principal amount of ordinary shares represented by ordinary shares or other securities at the exercise price provided in the applicable prospectus supplement. Rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for the rights provided in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

Holders may exercise rights as described in the applicable prospectus supplement. Upon receipt of payment and the rights certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the rights agent or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement, we will, as soon as practicable, forward the ordinary shares represented by ordinary shares or other securities, as applicable, purchasable upon exercise of the rights. If less than all of the rights issued in any rights offering are exercised, we may offer any unsubscribed securities directly to persons other than shareholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, including pursuant to standby arrangements, as described in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

Rights Agent

 

The rights agent for any rights we offer will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

 

DESCRIPTION OF UNITS

 

The following description, together with the additional information that we include in any applicable prospectus supplements summarizes the material terms and provisions of the units that we may offer under this prospectus. While the terms we have summarized below will apply generally to any units that we may offer under this prospectus, we will describe the particular terms of any series of units in more detail in the applicable prospectus supplement. The terms of any units offered under a prospectus supplement may differ from the terms described below.

 

We will incorporate by reference from reports that we file with the SEC, the form of unit agreement that describes the terms of the series of units we are offering, and any supplemental agreements, before the issuance of the related series of units. The following summaries of material terms and provisions of the units are subject to, and qualified in their entirety by reference to, all the provisions of the unit agreement and any supplemental agreements applicable to a particular series of units. We urge you to read the applicable prospectus supplements related to the particular series of units that we may offer under this prospectus, as well as any related free writing prospectuses and the complete unit agreement and any supplemental agreements that contain the terms of the units.

 

General

 

We may issue units consisting of any combination of the other types of securities offered under this prospectus in one or more series. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each security included in the unit. The unit agreement under which a unit is issued may provide that the securities included in the unit may not be held or transferred separately, at any time or at any time before a specified date.

 

We will describe in the applicable prospectus supplement the terms of the series of units being offered, including:

 

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the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances those securities may be held or transferred separately;

 

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any provisions of the governing unit agreement that differ from those described below; and

 

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any provisions for the issuance, payment, settlement, transfer or exchange of the units or of the securities comprising the units.

 

The provisions described in this section, as well as those set forth in any prospectus supplement or as described under “Description of Share Capital,” “Description of Debt Securities,” “Description of Warrants,” and “Description of Rights” will apply to each unit, as applicable, and to any ordinary shares, debt security, warrant or right included in each unit, as applicable.

 

Unit Agent

 

The name and address of the unit agent, if any, for any units we offer will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

Issuance in Series

 

We may issue units in such amounts and in such numerous distinct series as we determine.

 

Enforceability of Rights by Holders of Units

 

Each unit agent will act solely as our agent under the applicable unit agreement and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency or trust with any holder of any unit. A single bank or trust company may act as unit agent for more than one series of units. A unit agent will have no duty or responsibility in case of any default by us under the applicable unit agreement or unit, including any duty or responsibility to initiate any proceedings at law or otherwise, or to make any demand upon us. Any holder of a unit may, without the consent of the related unit agent or the holder of any other unit, enforce by appropriate legal action its rights as holder under any security included in the unit.

 

 

EXPENSES

 

The following is an estimate of the expenses (all of which are to be paid by us) that we may incur in connection with the securities being registered hereby, other than the SEC registration fee.

 

SEC registration fee		$	2,656.80
Legal fees and expenses			(1	)
Accounting fees and expenses			(1	)
Printing expenses			(1	)
Miscellaneous expenses			(1	)
Total		$	(1	)

 

---

(1)	These fees are calculated based on the securities offered and the number of issuances and accordingly cannot be estimated at this time.

 

 

LEGAL MATTERS

 

Unless the applicable prospectus supplement indicates otherwise, Shoosmiths LLP will pass upon the validity of the securities being registered hereby and certain other matters of English law for us in connection with the registration of such securities. Unless the applicable prospectus supplement indicates otherwise, White & Case LLP will pass upon certain matters of New York law for us in connection with the registration of certain securities being registered hereby. Additional legal matters may be passed upon for any underwriters, dealers or agents by counsel that we will name in the applicable prospectus supplement.

 

EXPERTS

 

The consolidated financial statements of VivoPower International PLC appearing in VivoPower’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended June 30, 2023 have been audited by PKF Littlejohn LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their report thereon, included therein, and incorporated herein by reference. Such consolidated financial statements are incorporated herein by reference in reliance upon such report given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.

 

The registered business address of PKF Littlejohn LLP is 15 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London E14 4HD.

 

ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS

 

We are a public limited company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales. Certain of our directors and executive officers and experts named in this prospectus reside outside of the United States, and all or a substantial portion of our assets and the assets of such persons are located outside the United States. As a result, it may be difficult for an investor to serve process on us or our directors and executive officers or to compel any of them to appear in Court in the United States or to enforce judgments obtained in U.S. courts against them or us, including judgments based on civil liability provisions of the securities laws of the United States. In addition, awards of punitive damages in actions brought in the United States or elsewhere may be unenforceable in the United Kingdom. An award for monetary damages under the U.S. securities laws would be considered punitive in the United Kingdom if it does not seek to compensate the claimant for loss or damage suffered and is intended to punish the defendant. The enforceability of any judgment in the United Kingdom will depend on the particular facts of the case as well as the laws and treaties in effect at the time. The United States and the United Kingdom do not currently have a treaty providing for the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments (other than arbitration awards) in civil and commercial matters.

 

WHERE YOU CAN FIND MORE INFORMATION

 

We are subject to the periodic reporting and other informational requirements of the Exchange Act. Under the Exchange Act, we file Annual Reports and other information with the SEC. As a foreign private issuer, we are exempt from, among other things, the rules under the Exchange Act prescribing the furnishing and content of proxy statements and our officers, directors and principal shareholders are exempt from the reporting and short-swing profit recovery provisions contained in Section 16 of the Exchange Act.

 

The SEC maintains a web site that contains reports and information statements and other information about issuers, such as us, who file electronically with the SEC. The address of that website is www.sec.gov.

 

This prospectus and any prospectus supplement are part of a registration statement that we filed with the SEC and do not contain all of the information in the registration statement. The full registration statement may be obtained from the SEC or us, as provided below. Forms of the documents establishing the terms of the offered securities are or may be filed as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part. Statements in this prospectus or any prospectus supplement about these documents are summaries and each statement is qualified in all respects by reference to the document to which it refers. You should refer to the actual documents for a more complete description of the relevant matters. You may inspect a copy of the registration statement through the SEC’s website, as provided above.

 

We also maintain a website at www.vivopower.com through which you can access our SEC filings. The information set forth on our website is not part of this prospectus.

 

 

INCORPORATION OF DOCUMENTS BY REFERENCE

 

The SEC allows us to “incorporate by reference” information that we file with them. Incorporation by reference allows us to disclose important information to you by referring you to those other documents. The information incorporated by reference is an important part of this prospectus, and information that we file later with the SEC will automatically update and supersede this information. We filed a registration statement on Form F-3 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, with the SEC with respect to the securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus. This prospectus omits certain information contained in the registration statement, as permitted by the SEC. You should refer to the registration statement, including the exhibits, for further information about us and the securities we may offer pursuant to this prospectus. Statements in this prospectus regarding the provisions of certain documents filed with, or incorporated by reference in, the registration statement are not necessarily complete and each statement is qualified in all respects by that reference. Copies of all or any part of the registration statement, including the documents incorporated by reference or the exhibits, may be obtained upon payment of the prescribed rates at the offices of the SEC listed above in “Where You Can Find More Information.” The documents we are incorporating by reference are:

 

●

Our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended June 30, 2023, filed on October 2, 2023, as amended on October 6, 2023;

 

●

Our Reports on Form 6-K filed on October 2, 2023, October 4, 2023, October 10, 2023, October 16, 2023, November 22, 2023, December 15, 2023, December 18, 2023, December 28, 2023, January 11, 2024 and January 17, 2024 that we incorporate by reference herein; and

 

●

the description of our Ordinary Shares contained in our Registration Statement on Form 8-A filed with the SEC on December 28, 2016, including any amendments or reports filed for the purpose of updating such description.

 

We are also incorporating by reference any reports on Form 6-K submitted to the SEC by the registrant pursuant to the Exchange Act after the date of the initial registration statement and prior to effectiveness of the registration statement that we specifically identify in such forms as being incorporated by reference into the registration statement of which this prospectus forms a part and all subsequent Annual Reports on Form 20-F that we file with the SEC and certain reports on Form 6-K that we furnish to the SEC after the date of this prospectus (if they state that they are incorporated by reference into this prospectus) prior to the termination of this offering. In all cases, you should rely on the later information over different information included in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement.

 

Unless expressly incorporated by reference, nothing in this prospectus shall be deemed to incorporate by reference information furnished to, but not filed with, the SEC. Copies of all documents incorporated by reference in this prospectus, other than exhibits to those documents unless such exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference in this prospectus, will be provided at no cost to each person, including any beneficial owner, who receives a copy of this prospectus on the written or oral request of that person made to:

 

VivoPower International PLC

The Scalpel, 18th Floor, 52 Lime Street

London EC3M 7AF

United Kingdom

+44-203-667-5158

 

You may also access these documents on our website, www.vivopower.com. The information contained on, or that can be accessed through, our website is not a part of this prospectus. We have included our website address in this prospectus solely as an inactive textual reference.

 

You should rely only on information contained in, or incorporated by reference into, this prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with information different from that contained in this prospectus or incorporated by reference in this prospectus. We are not making offers to sell the securities in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or solicitation is not authorized or in which the person making such offer or solicitation is not qualified to do so or to anyone to whom it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation.

 

 

PART II

 

INFORMATION NOT REQUIRED IN PROSPECTUS

 

Item 8. Indemnification of Directors and Officers.

 

The Registrant’s articles of association provide that, subject to the Companies Act 2006, every person who is or was of any time a director of the Registrant or a director of an associated company of the Registrant may be indemnified against losses or liabilities incurred by him in relation to the Registrant or any associated company of the Registrant. The Registrant also maintains directors and officers insurance to insure such persons against certain liabilities.

 

Item 9. Exhibits.

 

The following exhibits are filed with this registration statement or are incorporated herein by reference.

 

Exhibit Number		Exhibit Description		Filed Herewith		Incorporated by Reference herein from Form or Schedule		Filing Date		SEC File/ Reg. Number
1.1*		Form of Underwriting Agreement.
3.1		Articles of Association of the registrant				Form F-4 (Exhibit 3.1)		8/24/2016		333-213297
4.1#		Form of certificate evidencing ordinary shares
4.2*		Form of Senior Debt Security
4.3*		Form of Subordinated Debt Security
4.4#		Form of Senior Indenture
4.5#		Form of Subordinated Indenture
4.6*		Form of Warrant Agreement and Warrant Certificate
4.7*		Form of Rights Agreement and Right Certificate
4.8*		Form of Unit Agreement and Unit
5.1		Opinion of Shoosmiths LLP		x
5.2		Opinion of White & Case LLP.		x
23.1		Consent of PKF Littlejohn LLP		x
23.2		Consent of Shoosmiths LLP (included in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5.1)		x
23.3		Consent of White & Case LLP (included in the opinion filed as Exhibit 5.2).		x

 

 

24.1#		Powers of Attorney (included on the signature page of this registration statement).
25.1**		The Statement of Eligibility on Form T-1 under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, of the Trustee under the Senior Indenture will be incorporated herein by reference from a subsequent filing in accordance with Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
25.2**		The Statement of Eligibility on Form T-1 under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended, of the Trustee under the Subordinated Indenture will be incorporated herein by reference from a subsequent filing in accordance with Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939.
107#		Filing Fee Table.

 

---

*	To be subsequently filed, if applicable, by an amendment to this registration statement or by a Report on Form 6-K

**	To be filed pursuant to Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939

#	Previously filed.

 

Item 10. Undertakings.

 

(a) The undersigned registrant hereby undertakes:

(1) To file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to this registration statement:

 

(i) To include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933;

 

(ii) To reflect in the prospectus any facts or events arising after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any increase or decrease in volume of securities offered (if the total dollar value of securities offered would not exceed that which was registered) and any deviation from the low or high end of the estimated maximum offering range may be reflected in the form of prospectus filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) if, in the aggregate, the changes in volume and price represent no more than 20 percent change in the maximum aggregate offering price set forth in the “Calculation of Registration Fee” table in the effective registration statement; and

 

(iii) To include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement;

 

provided, however, that paragraphs (a)(1)(i), (a)(1)(ii), and (a)(1)(iii) above do not apply if the information required to be included in a post-effective amendment by those paragraphs is contained in reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the registration statement, or is contained in a form of prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) that is a part of the registration statement.

 

 

(2) That, for the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(3) To remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering.

 

(4) To file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement to include any financial statements required by Item 8.A. of Form 20-F at the start of any delayed offering or throughout a continuous offering. Financial statements and information otherwise required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 need not be furnished, provided, that the registrant includes in the prospectus, by means of a post-effective amendment, financial statements required pursuant to this paragraph (a)(4) and other information necessary to ensure that all other information in the prospectus is at least as current as the date of those financial statements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, with respect to registration statements on Form F-3, a post-effective amendment need not be filed to include financial statements and information required by Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933, or 3-19 of Regulation S-X if such financial statements and information are contained in periodic reports filed with or furnished to the Commission by the registrant pursuant to section 13 or section 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that are incorporated by reference in the Form F-3.

 

(5) That, for the purpose of determining liability under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser:

 

(i) Each prospectus filed by the registrant pursuant to Rule 424(b)(3) shall be deemed to be part of the registration statement as of the date the filed prospectus was deemed part of and included in the registration statement; and

 

(ii) Each prospectus required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2), (b)(5), or (b)(7) as part of a registration statement in reliance on Rule 430B relating to an offering made pursuant to Rule 415(a)(1)(i), (vii), or (x) for the purpose of providing the information required by section 10(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the earlier of the date such form of prospectus is first used after effectiveness or the date of the first contract of sale of securities in the offering described in the prospectus. As provided in Rule 430B, for liability purposes of the issuer and any person that is at that date an underwriter, such date shall be deemed to be a new effective date of the registration statement relating to the securities in the registration statement to which that prospectus relates, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such effective date, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such effective date.

 

(6) That, for the purpose of determining liability of the registrant under the Securities Act of 1933 to any purchaser in the initial distribution of securities:

 

The undersigned registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to such purchaser:

 

(i) Any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424;

 

(ii) Any free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or used or referred to by the undersigned registrant;

 

(iii) The portion of any other free writing prospectus relating to the offering prepared by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned registrant; and

 

(iv) Any other communications that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned registrant to the purchaser.

 

 

(7) That, for purposes of determining any liability under the Securities Act, each filing of the Registrant’s Annual Report pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Exchange Act (and, where applicable, each filing of an employee benefit plan’s Annual Report pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act) that is incorporated by reference in this registration statement shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof.

 

(8) If applicable, the undersigned Registrant hereby undertakes to supplement the prospectus, after the expiration of the subscription period, to set forth the results of the subscription offer, the transaction by the underwriters during the subscription period, the amount of unsubscribed securities to be purchased by the underwriters, and the terms of any subsequent reoffering thereof. If any public offering by the underwriters is to be made on terms differing from those set forth on the cover page of the prospectus, a post-effective amendment will be filed to set forth the terms of such offering.

 

(9) Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

 

(10) To file an application for the purpose of determining the eligibility of the trustee to act under subsection (a) of Section 310 of the Trust Indenture Act in accordance with the rules and regulations prescribed by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 305(b)(2) of the Trust Indenture Act.

 

 

SIGNATURES

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the registrant certifies that it has reasonable grounds to believe that it meets all of the requirements for filing on Form F-3 and has duly caused this Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in City of London, United Kingdom, on February 16, 2024.

 

	VIVOPOWER INTERNATIONAL PLC
	By:	/s/ Kevin Chin
		Name:    Kevin Chin
		Title:      Chief Executive Officer, Executive Chairman and                Director

 

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

Name		Title		Date
/s/ Kevin Chin		Chief Executive Officer, Executive Chairman		February 16, 2024
Kevin Chin		and Director (Principal Executive Officer)
/s/ Philip Wray		Group Finance Director (Principal Financial		February 16, 2024
Philip Wray		and Accounting Officer)
/s/ Michael Hui		Director		February 16, 2024
Michael Hui
/s/ Peter Jeavons		Director		February 16, 2024
Peter Jeavons
/s/ Gemma Godfrey		Director		February 16, 2024
Gemma Godrey
/s/ William Langdon		Director		February 16, 2024
William Langdon

 

 

SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZED U.S. REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REGISTRANT

 

Pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933, the undersigned, the duly authorized representative in the United States of VivoPower International PLC has signed this registration statement on February 16, 2024.

 

 

	VIVOPOWER INTERNATIONAL PLC
	By:	/s/ William Langdon
		Name:    William Langdon
		Title:      Director

 

 

Exhibit 5.1

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

The Scalpel

18th Floor

52 Lime Street

London

EC3M 7AF

 

 

Our Ref	ATP/M-00908237
Date	16 February 2024

 

 

Dear Sirs

 

VivoPower International PLC – Registration Statement on Form F-3

 

We have acted as counsel to VivoPower International PLC (company number 09978410) (“Company”), a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales, in connection with the registration statement on Form F-3 which is attached to this Opinion Letter as an exhibit (such registration statement, including the documents incorporated by reference therein, the “Registration Statement”) filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) pursuant to the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

 

For the purposes of this Opinion Letter, we have examined and relied upon such documents, records, certificates and other instruments as we, in our professional judgment, have deemed necessary or appropriate as a basis for the opinions and statements below. We have assumed the genuineness of all signatures, the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, and the conformity to originals of all documents submitted to us as copies.

 

1	SCOPE OF OPINIONS

 

1.1	The opinions given in this Opinion Letter (the “Opinions”) are given only with respect to English law as published and applied by the courts of England and Wales at the date of this Opinion Letter.

 

1.2

We express no opinion on the laws of any other jurisdiction including, for the avoidance of doubt, European Union law, as it affects any jurisdiction other than England and Wales. No opinion is expressed as to any provision of the Documents (as defined below) that refer to specific laws or regulations of any jurisdiction other than England and Wales. To the extent that the laws of the United States of America or any other jurisdiction may be relevant to the subject matter of the Opinions, we have made no independent investigation of them and our opinion is subject to the effect of any such laws. We express no view on the validity of such matters.

 

1.3	The Opinions are given only with respect to the matters expressly set out in paragraph 4.1 and shall not be construed as opinions as to any other matter. The Opinions do not cover the matters set out in paragraph 6.1.

 

 

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

1.4	The Opinions are given on the basis of the assumptions set out in paragraph 5. We have not taken any steps to investigate whether they are correct except as may be specified in paragraph 5.

 

1.5	The Opinions are subject to the qualifications listed in paragraph 6 and to any matters not disclosed to us.

 

1.6	By providing you with this Opinion Letter, we do not assume any obligation to notify you of future changes in law which may affect the Opinions or to otherwise update this Opinion Letter in any respect.

 

2	BACKGROUND

 

2.1	The Registration Statement relates to the issuance and sale by the Company from time to time of:

 

2.1.1

ordinary shares each having a nominal value of $0.12 (the “Offering Shares”);

 

2.1.2

debt securities (the “Debt Securities”);

 

2.1.3

warrants (the “Warrants”);

 

2.1.4

rights (the “Rights”); and

 

2.1.5

units (the “Units”),

 

pursuant to the Registration Statement with the aggregate subscription amount not to exceed US $18,000,000.

 

2.2	We understand that none of the Offering Shares are, and are not intended to be, admitted to trading on any market or exchange, or otherwise listed, in the United Kingdom.

 

2.3	We note that the Registration Statement includes a prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”) relating to the Offering Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Rights and Units to be offered, issued and sold by the Company with the aggregate subscription amount not to exceed US $18,000,000.

 

3	EXAMINATION OF DOCUMENTS AND SEARCHES

 

3.1	For the purpose of giving this Opinion Letter, we have examined the following documents (the “Documents”, each a “Document”):

 

3.1.1

copy of the registration statement on Form F-3 (Registration No. 333-276509) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the Securities Act, as may be amended;

 

3.1.2

copy of the Company’s certificate of incorporation dated 1 February 2016 and copy current articles of association adopted pursuant to a special resolution of the Company’s shareholders passed on 20 August 2018;

 

3.1.3

a minute of the general meeting of the Company held on 6 October 2020 at which certain shareholder resolutions were passed, including the resolutions providing a general authority to allot ordinary shares in the Company and disapplying statutory pre-emption rights in respect of such allotment of shares or the grant of rights to subscribe for or convert into ordinary shares up to an aggregate nominal value of $180,000;

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

3.1.4

written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company passed on 11 December 2020 which resolved to approve the filing of the Registration Statement with the SEC, and written resolutions of the board of directors passed on 11 December 2020 which resolved to approve the allotment and disapplying statutory pre-emption rights in respect of the allotment of ordinary shares up to a subscription amount of $80,000,000;

 

3.1.5

a minute of the general meeting of the Company held on 18 December 2020 at which certain shareholder resolutions were passed, including the resolutions providing a general authority to allot ordinary shares in the Company and disapplying statutory pre-emption rights in respect of such allotment of ordinary shares or the grant of rights to subscribe for or convert into ordinary shares up to an aggregate nominal value of $180,000;

 

3.1.6

written resolutions of the board of directors passed on 9 October 2020 which resolved to approve the allotment of ordinary shares of $0.012 each up to an aggregate subscription amount of $34,500,000;

 

3.1.7

written resolutions of the board of directions passed on 14 October 2020 which resolved to approve the allotment of ordinary shares of $0.012 each up to an aggregate offering price of $5,750,000;

 

3.1.8

a minute of the general meeting of the Company held on 10 November 2022 at which certain shareholder resolutions were passed, including the resolutions providing a general authority to allot ordinary shares in the Company and disapplying statutory pre-emption rights in respect of such allotment of ordinary shares or the grant of rights to subscribe for or convert into ordinary shares up to an aggregate nominal value of $180,000;

 

3.1.9

shareholder resolutions passed on 6 July 2023 providing authority for the directors to consolidate and divide all of the Company’s existing ordinary shares of $0.012 each into such reduced number of ordinary shares of such increased nominal value as the Company’s board may determine at any time prior to 23 October 2023;

 

3.1.10

written resolutions of the board of directors passed on 2 October 2023 which resolved to approve the consolidation of the Company’s existing ordinary shares of $0.012 each into 2,578,826 ordinary shares of $0.12 each;

 

3.1.11

a minute of the general meeting of the Company held on 28 December 2023 at which certain shareholder resolutions were passed, including the resolutions providing a general authority to allot ordinary shares of $0.12 each in the capital of the Company and disapplying statutory pre-emption rights in respect of such allotment of ordinary shares or the grant of rights to subscribe for or convert into ordinary shares up to an aggregate nominal value of $3,600,000;

 

3.1.12

written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company passed on 2 January 2024 which resolved to approve the filing of the Registration Statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission;

 

3.1.13

written resolutions of the board of directors of the Company passed on 15 February 2024 which resolved to approve the filing of the Registration Statement, together with any new exhibits, with the Securities and Exchange Commission;

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

3.1.14

a certificate of good standing of the Company dated 16 February 2024;

 

3.1.15

at 09:54 on 16 February 2024 an online search of the public records on file and available for inspection at Companies House in respect of the Company;

 

3.1.16

at 10:06 on 16 February 2024 an online search of the Central Registry of Winding-up Petitions at the Companies Court in London in respect of the Company; and

 

3.1.17

a director’s certificate dated 16 February 2024 in which the directors confirmed no resolutions have been passed which render any part of this Opinion Letter untrue or invalid, and that there have been no resolutions of the directors or the shareholders of the Company to revoke any previous authorities provided to the directors to issue shares in the Company free of pre-emption rights.

 

3.2	Except as stated above, we have not examined any other documents or corporate or other records and we have not made any other searches, enquiries or investigations for the purpose of giving the Opinions.

 

4

OPINIONS

 

4.1	Based on and subject to the qualifications, assumptions and limitations set forth herein and subject to any matters not disclosed to us, we are of the opinion that:

 

4.1.1

the Company is a public limited company duly incorporated under English law, noting that our searches undertaken on 16 February 2024 revealed no order or resolution for the winding-up of the Company is pending, and no notice of the appointment of a receiver, administrative receiver or administrator in respect of it or any of its assets has been made;

 

4.1.2

the Offering Shares will, when the names of the holders of such Offering Shares or their nominees are entered into the register of members of the Company and subject to the receipt by the Company of the aggregate issue price in respect of all the Offering Shares, be validly issued, fully paid and no further amount may be called thereon;

 

4.1.3

the Debt Securities will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company at such time that the relevant forms and terms of the Debt Securities and their issuance have been approved by the Company and the Debt Securities have been executed and delivered by the Company, subject always to the Debt Securities which have been contemplated by the Registration Statement and Base Prospectus;

 

4.1.4

the Warrants will be valid and binding obligations of the Company at such time as the terms of the Warrants and their issuance have been approved by appropriate action of the Company and any applicable warrant agent, and the Warrants have been duly executed, authenticated and delivered in accordance with the applicable warrant agreement, subject always to the Warrants which have been contemplated by the Registration Statement and Base Prospectus;

 

4.1.5

the Rights will be valid and binding obligations of the Company at such time as the terms of the Rights and their issuance have been approved by appropriate action of the Company, and the Rights have been duly executed, authenticated and delivered in accordance with the applicable agreements, subject always to the Rights which have been contemplated by the Registration Statement and Base Prospectus; and

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

4.1.6

the Units will be valid and binding obligations of the Company at such time as the terms of the Units and their issuance have been approved by appropriate action of the Company, and the Units have been duly executed, authenticated and delivered in accordance with the applicable agreements, subject always to the Units which have been contemplated by the Registration Statement and Base Prospectus.

 

4.2

The Opinions in paragraph 4.1 above are for the benefit of the Company in connection with the Registration Statement. This Opinion Letter may be relied upon by the Company and by persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Securities Act. However, this Opinion Letter may not be relied upon for any other purpose or furnished to, assigned to, or relied upon by any other person, firm or other entity, for any purpose, without our prior written consent, which may be granted or withheld in our sole discretion.

 

4.3

We consent to the filing of this Opinion Letter as Exhibit 5.1 to the Registration Statement, for information only and on a non-reliance basis, subject to paragraph 4.2 above, (and without creating any assumption of duty on our part to any person other than the Company) and further consent to the reference to our name under the caption “Legal Matters” in the prospectus, which forms a part of the Registration Statement. In giving such consent, we do not thereby admit that we are in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations thereunder.

 

4.4	No person who is permitted to rely on this Opinion Letter or any benefit here under may assign it to, or hold the benefit of it on trust for, any other person.

 

4.5	This Opinion Letter and the Opinions may not be disclosed to any person, or quoted in any public document, or otherwise made public in any way, without our prior written consent, except as follows, on a non-reliance basis:

 

4.5.1

where disclosure is required or requested by any court of competent jurisdiction or any governmental, banking, taxation or other regulatory authority or similar body, the rules of any relevant stock exchange or pursuant to any applicable law or regulation; or

 

4.5.2

where disclosure is required in connection with, and for the purposes of, any litigation, arbitration, administrative or other investigations, proceedings or disputes,

 

4.5.3

but only on the condition that: (i) such disclosure is made only to enable any such person to be informed that an opinion has been given and to be made aware of its terms; (ii) we do not assume any duty or liability to any person to whom such disclosure is made; (iii) the recipient is informed of the confidential nature of this opinion; and (iv) the recipient may not disclose this opinion to any other person.

 

4.6	Our liability under this Opinion Letter is limited to $18,000,000 for any one claim or series of claims arising out of this Opinion Letter.

 

4.7	The Opinions are given only by Shoosmiths LLP, an English limited liability partnership, and no partner, member or employee of Shoosmiths LLP shall have any personal responsibility or owe any duty of care in relation to it.

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

5	ASSUMPTIONS

 

5.1

Documents

 

We have assumed:

 

5.1.1

the genuineness of all signatures and seals on the Documents (or on the relevant originals where we have examined copies) and the authenticity and completeness of those Documents;

 

5.1.2

the conformity to the original Documents of any Documents submitted to us as certified or uncertified copies or scans of the original Documents; and

 

5.1.3

that there have been no variations to any of the Documents provided to us or to the originals thereof and none of the Documents have been superseded or rescinded.

 

5.2	Other parties and laws

 

In relation to the other parties to the Documents and all laws other than those of England and Wales we have assumed:

 

5.2.1

the capacity, power and authority to execute and the due execution of the Documents by each party to it other than the Company (as a matter of English law);

 

5.2.2

that the obligations expressed to be assumed by each party to the Documents other than the Company under the Documents are valid and legally binding upon them (as a matter of English law);

 

5.2.3

that all obligations under the Documents are valid, legally binding upon, and enforceable against, the parties thereto as a matter of all relevant laws other than the laws of England and Wales;

 

5.2.4

no foreign law would affect any of the conclusions stated in this Opinion Letter;

 

5.2.5

due compliance by all relevant parties other than the Company with all matters (including, without limitation, the making of necessary filings, lodgements, registrations and notifications and the payment of stamp duties and other documentary taxes and charges) that govern or relate to the Documents or such parties;

 

5.2.6

where any consents, directions, authorisations, approvals or instructions have to be obtained under any law, regulation or practice for the performance of the Documents (other than any corporate authorisations, approvals and company law requirements the subject of this Opinion Letter), they have been obtained or that they will be forthcoming within any relevant period in order to be fully effective for such purpose; and

 

5.2.7

other than European Union Law as it affects the laws of England and Wales, there are no laws of any jurisdiction outside England and Wales which would, or might, affect the Opinions.

 

5.3	Corporate actions and status

 

In relation to the Company, we have assumed:

 

5.3.1

that each resolution of the directors and shareholders of the Company certified as being true and accurate and provided to us in connection with the giving of the Opinions was duly passed by the required majority at a properly convened and quorate meeting of directors (or a duly authorised committee thereof) and of shareholders of the Company or otherwise in accordance with the constitutional documents of the Company and/or the Companies Act 2006;

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

5.3.2

that each person identified as a director or a secretary in any resolution of the directors of the Company was validly appointed as such and was in office at the date of the Documents;

 

5.3.3

that any provisions contained in the Companies Act 2006 and/or the articles of association of the Company relating to the declaration of directors’, interests or the power of interested directors to vote were duly observed;

 

5.3.4

that any restrictions in the articles of association of the Company on that Company’s and/or on its directors’ authority to guarantee will not be contravened by the entry into and performance by it of the Documents to which it is a party;

 

5.3.5

that the execution and delivery of the Documents by the Company and the exercise of its rights and performance of its obligations under the Documents will promote the success of the Company for the benefit of its members as a whole and that any guarantee contained in the Documents was given in good faith by the Company and for the purposes of carrying on its business and the directors of the Company have satisfied themselves, after due deliberation, as to the benefit that the Company will derive from the giving of any guarantee contained in the Documents;

 

5.3.6

that no step has been taken to wind up the Company nor to appoint a receiver, administrator or like officer in respect of the Company or any of its assets and that no voluntary arrangement has been proposed in respect of the Company; and

 

5.3.7

there are no agreements, letters or other arrangements having contractual effect which modify the terms of, or affect, the Documents or which render the Company incapable of or prohibit it from performing any of its obligations under the Documents and no provision of the Documents have been waived and there are no contractual or similar restrictions contained in any agreement or arrangement (other than the Documents) which are binding on the Company which would prohibit it from performing any of its obligations under the Documents.

 

5.4	Reliance on Documents

 

5.4.1

All Documents submitted to us as copies or certified copies are true and complete copies of the originals and such originals and all Documents submitted to us as originals are genuine and complete and all signatures (including electronic signatures), stamps and seals on the documents are genuine.

 

5.4.2

Each Document accurately records the agreement of the parties to it and has not been amended, varied, waived, superseded, rescinded, breached, revoked or terminated.

 

5.4.3

The Documents are in the form produced to the directors of the Company.

 

5.4.4

There have been no amendments to the articles of association of the Company since the date referred to in paragraph 3.1.2.

 

5.5

Execution

 

5.5.1

The Documents have been signed by or on behalf of each party to it by person(s) authorised by the relevant party to (in the presence of a witness where applicable).

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

5.5.2

The making of the signatures on the signature pages to the Documents was made or done in a manner recognised by law as valid and the Documents have remained intact since those signatures were made or affixed (as the case may be).

 

5.5.3

The Documents have been dated with the date on which it was signed and duly delivered by the parties to it (where applicable).

 

5.6

Searches

 

5.6.1

The information disclosed in response to the searches referred to in paragraph 3.1 of this Opinion Letter was accurate, complete and up to date at the time of those searches and those responses did not fail to disclose any matters which they should have disclosed and which were relevant for the purposes of this Opinion Letter. Since the date of those searches and enquiries there has been no alteration in the status of the Company as revealed in those searches.

 

5.6.2

No event has occurred in relation to the Company, such as the passing of a resolution for or the presentation of a petition or the taking of any other action for the winding-up of, or the appointment of a liquidator, administrator, administrative receiver or receiver of the Company, in respect of which a filing at the Companies Registry or at the Central Index of the Companies Court was required to be made and has not been made or has been made but has not at the date of the searches appeared on the relevant search result relating to the Company.

 

5.7	Other matters

 

5.7.1

None of the parties to the Documents are or will be seeking to achieve any purpose not apparent from the Documents which might render the Documents illegal or void.

 

5.7.2

Where any liability or obligation or right or benefit of a party to the Documents are dependent upon the satisfaction of conditions precedent, those conditions have been or will be duly and properly satisfied.

 

5.7.3

There is no other matter or document which would, or might, affect the Opinions and which was not revealed by the Documents.

 

6	QUALIFICATIONS

 

6.1	Matters not covered

 

6.1.1

We express no opinion as to matters of fact, opinion or intention.

 

6.1.2

No opinion is expressed as to any provision of the Documents to the extent it purports to declare or impose a trust, turnover or similar arrangement in relation to any payments or assets received.

 

6.1.3

Except to the extent expressly set out in the Opinions, we express no opinion as to any taxation, financial or accountancy matters or any liability to tax which may arise or be suffered as a result of, or in connection with, the Documents or any transaction relating to them.

 

6.1.4

We express no opinion as to whether any filings, clearances, notifications or disclosures are required under laws relating to anti-trust, competition, public procurement, state aid or national security.

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

6.2	Insolvency

 

6.2.1

The validity, performance and enforcement of the Documents may be limited by bankruptcy, insolvency, liquidation, reorganisation or prescription or similar laws of general application relating to or affecting the rights of creditors.

 

6.2.2

Any provision in the Documents which confers, purports to confer or waives a right of set-off or similar right may be ineffective against a liquidator or creditor.

 

6.2.3

A power of attorney may, in limited circumstances, be revoked by the winding-up or dissolution of the donor company.

 

6.2.4

The searches and enquiries referred to in paragraph 2 of this Opinion Letter are not conclusively capable of revealing whether insolvency or similar procedures, or steps towards them, have been started against the Company.

 

6.3	Enforceability

 

6.3.1

Remedies such as specific performance or the issue of an injunction are available only at the discretion of the courts of England and Wales according to general principles of equity. Specific performance is not usually granted and an injunction is not usually issued where damages would be an adequate alternative.

 

6.3.2

The enforcement of any guarantee contained in the Documents may be subject to equitable defences relieving the guarantor from its obligations. The guarantor may be relieved from liability under any guarantee contained in the Documents by (a) the action or the lack of action by or by the conduct of the creditor or debtor in respect of any guaranteed obligations or any guarantee, security or other assurance against financial loss given in respect of such obligations or (b) any bad faith or misrepresentation on the part of such creditor.

 

6.3.3

Enforcement of claims arising pursuant to the Documents may become barred under the Limitation Act 1980 or may be subject to a defence of set-off or counterclaim.

 

6.3.4

Enforcement may be limited by the provisions of the laws of England and Wales applicable to agreements held to have been frustrated by events happening after execution of a document.

 

6.3.5

A party to a contract may be able to avoid its obligations under that contract (and may have other remedies) where it has been induced to enter into that contract by a misrepresentation and the courts of England and Wales will generally not enforce an obligation if there has been fraud.

 

6.3.6

In this letter “enforceable” means, in relation to an obligation, that it is of a type which the courts of England and Wales enforce. It does not mean that such obligation will be enforced in all circumstances in accordance with the terms of the relevant Document.

 

6.4	Discretion of courts

 

6.4.1

The courts of England and Wales may stay proceedings if concurrent proceedings are being brought elsewhere.

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

6.4.2

There could be circumstances in which the courts of England and Wales would not treat as conclusive those certificates and determinations which any of the Documents state are to be so treated.

 

6.4.3

The question whether or not any provisions of the Documents which may be invalid on account of illegality may be severed from the other provisions thereof in order to save those other provisions would be determined by the courts of England and Wales in their discretion.

 

6.5	Choice of law

 

6.5.1

An express choice of the laws of England and Wales will be subject to:

 

a)

mandatory provisions of European Community law where all other elements of the situation are located in one or more European Union member states; and

 

b)

the discretion of the courts of England and Wales to give effect to the mandatory provisions of law of the country where the obligations arising out of the contract are to be performed insofar as those provisions render performance of the contract unlawful.

 

6.5.2

An English court may refuse to accept jurisdiction if proceedings have been commenced in member state of the European Union, a related action is already pending in another member state of the European Union or the courts of another member state of the European Union has exclusive jurisdiction.

 

7

GENERAL

 

7.1

We have not investigated the laws of any country other than England and Wales and the Opinions are given only with respect to the laws of England and Wales as at the date of this letter. In issuing the Opinions we do not assume any obligation to notify or inform you of any developments subsequent to the date of this letter that might render its contents untrue or inaccurate in whole or in part at such later time.

 

7.2	Where any party to any Document is vested with a discretion or may determine a matter in its opinion, the laws of England and Wales may require that such discretion is exercised reasonably and for a proper purpose and/or that such opinion is formed in good faith based on reasonable grounds.

 

7.3

Whether any guarantee contained in any Document constitutes a primary obligation of the Company will depend upon its construction. In the absence of a clear statement that the obligations of the Company are of indemnity as well as guarantee the courts of England and Wales may not give effect to provisions seeking to impose primary liability on or to restrict the defences available to the Company in accordance with the terms of the Documents.

 

7.4	Any provisions excluding liability may be limited by law.

 

7.5

This Opinion Letter is given on the condition that it will be construed in accordance with English law and that each addressee submits to the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales and waives any objection to the exercise of such jurisdiction in relation to any dispute arising out of or in connection with this Opinion Letter.

 

 

VivoPower International PLC

 

 

Yours faithfully

 

 

/s/ SHOOSMITHS LLP

SHOOSMITHS LLP

Dated: 16 February 2024

 

Exhibit 5.2

 

February 16, 2024   VivoPower International PLC The Scalpel, 18th Floor, 52 Lime Street London EC3M 7AF United Kingdom

 

Re:         VivoPower International PLC – Registration Statement on Form F-3

 

Ladies and Gentlemen:

 

We have acted as New York counsel to VivoPower International PLC, a public limited company incorporated in England and Wales (the “Company”), in connection with the preparation and filing by the Company with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) of a registration statement on Form F-3 (as amended, the “Registration Statement”) and the related base prospectus (the “Base Prospectus”), which provides that it will be supplemented by one or more prospectus supplements (each such prospectus supplement, together with the Base Prospectus, a “Prospectus”), relating to the registration for issue and sale by the Company from time to time, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), of up to $18,000,000 aggregate amount of one or more of the following securities of the Company: (i) the Company’s ordinary shares, nominal value $0.12 per share (“Ordinary Shares”), (ii) one or more series of the Company’s debt securities (collectively “Debt Securities”) to be issued under an indenture to be entered into between the Company, as issuer, and a trustee (an “Indenture”), (iii) warrants to purchase Ordinary Shares or Debt Securities, or any combination thereof (“Warrants”), (iv) units that include any of the Ordinary Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Rights (as defined below) in any combination (the “Units”), and (v) rights evidencing the right to purchase Ordinary Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units or any combination thereof (“Rights”), in each case as contemplated by the Registration Statement. The Rights may be issued under one or more rights agreements (each, a “Rights Agreement”) between the Company and a third party to be identified therein as rights agent. The Warrants may be issued under one or more warrant agreements (each, a “Warrant Agreement”) between the Company and a third party to be identified therein as warrant agent. The Units may be issued under one or more unit agreements (each, a “Unit Agreement”) between the Company and a third party to be identified therein as unit agent. The Indenture, the Rights Agreement, the Warrant Agreement and the Unit Agreement are herein collectively referred to herein as the “Agreements.”

 

The Ordinary Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units and Rights, plus any additional Ordinary Shares, Debt Securities, Warrants, Units and Rights that may be registered pursuant to any subsequent registration statement that the Company may hereafter file with the Commission pursuant to Rule 462(b) under the Securities Act in connection with an offering by the Company contemplated by the Registration Statement, are referred to herein collectively as the “Securities.”

 

 

This opinion letter is rendered in accordance with the requirements of Item 601(b)(5) of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act, and no opinion is expressed herein as to any matter pertaining to the contents of the Registration Statement or related applicable Prospectus, other than as expressly stated herein with respect to the issue of the Securities.

 

In connection with our opinion expressed below, we have examined originals or copies certified or otherwise identified to our satisfaction of the Registration Statement and such other documents, corporate records, certificates and other statements of government officials and corporate officers of the Company as we deemed necessary for the purposes of the opinion set forth in this opinion letter.

 

We have relied, to the extent we deem such reliance proper, upon such certificates or comparable documents of officers and representatives of the Company and of public officials and upon statements and information furnished by officers and representatives of the Company with respect to the accuracy of material factual matters contained therein which were not independently established by us. In rendering the opinions expressed below, we have assumed, without independent investigation or verification of any kind, the genuineness of all signatures on documents we have reviewed, the legal capacity and competency of all natural persons signing all such documents, the authenticity and completeness of all documents submitted to us as originals, the conformity to authentic, complete original documents of all documents submitted to us as copies, the truthfulness, completeness and correctness of all factual representations and statements contained in all documents we have reviewed, the accuracy and completeness of all public records examined by us and the accuracy of all statements in certificates of officers of the Company that we reviewed.

 

In addition, in rendering the opinions expressed below, we have assumed that: (i) each party to each Agreement is or will be duly organized and validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or formation and has, and had at all relevant times, full power and authority to execute and deliver, and to perform its obligations under, each Agreement to which it is a party, (ii) that each of the Debt Securities, Warrants, Units and Rights and applicable Agreements governing such Securities will be governed by the internal laws of the State of New York, (iii) that each Agreement will be duly authorized, executed and delivered, by all of the parties thereto, and each party to each of the Agreements will satisfy all other legal requirements that are applicable to it to the extent necessary to make each Agreement enforceable against it, (iv) that each Agreement will constitute the valid, binding and enforceable obligation of all of the parties thereto under all applicable laws; provided, however, that this assumption is not made as to the Company to the extent expressly addressed in our opinion in this opinion letter, (v) that the execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations under, each Agreement by each party thereto will not (A) contravene such party’s articles or certificate of incorporation, by-laws or similar organizational documents, (B) contravene any laws or governmental rules or regulations that may be applicable to such party or its assets, (C) contravene any judicial or administrative judgment, injunction, order or decree that is binding upon such party or its assets, or (D) breach or result in a default under any contract, indenture, lease, or other agreement or instrument applicable to or binding upon such party or its assets, (vi) that all consents, approvals, licenses, authorizations, orders of, and all filings or registrations with, any governmental or regulatory authority or agency required under the laws of any jurisdiction for the execution and delivery of, and the performance of its obligations under, each Agreement by each party thereto will be obtained or made and are in full force and effect and (vii) that there are no agreements or other arrangements that modify, supersede, novate, terminate or otherwise alter any of the terms of any Agreement.

 

 

Based upon the foregoing assumptions and assumptions set forth below, and subject to the qualifications and limitations stated herein, having considered such questions of law as we have deemed necessary as a basis for the opinion expressed below, we are of the opinion that when the Registration Statement becomes effective under the Securities Act and when the applicable Agreements have been duly authorized and executed by all necessary corporate action of the Company (and, in the case of an Indenture, authenticated by the trustee in accordance with the provisions of the applicable Indenture), and when the applicable Security is duly delivered by or on behalf of the Company against payment therefor in accordance with the applicable Agreement, and in the manner contemplated by the Registration Statement and Prospectus and pursuant to any corporate action necessary to authorize and approve the issuance and terms, in each case, of any Debt Securities, Warrants, Units and Rights, such Securities will constitute valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, subject to (i) applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, receivership, conservatorship, liquidation, reorganization, moratorium, fraudulent transfer and other laws affecting the enforcement of creditors’ rights generally, and (ii) the application of general principles of equity (whether applied by a court in equity or at law).

 

The opinion expressed above is limited to questions arising under the law of the State of New York. We do not express any opinion as to the laws of any other jurisdiction. Various issues concerning the laws of England and Wales are addressed in the opinion of Shoosmiths LLP filed as an exhibit to the Registration Statement. We express no opinion with respect to those matters herein, and to the extent elements of those opinions are necessary to the conclusions expressed herein, we have, with the Company’s consent, assumed such matters.

 

This opinion letter is for your benefit in connection with the Registration Statement and may be relied upon by you and by persons entitled to rely upon it pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Securities Act.

 

The opinion expressed above is as of the date hereof only, and we express no opinion as to, and assume no responsibility for, the effect of any fact or circumstance occurring, or of which we learn, subsequent to the date of this opinion letter, including, without limitation, legislative and other changes in the law or changes in circumstances affecting any party. We assume no responsibility to update this opinion letter for, or to advise you of, any such facts or circumstances of which we become aware, regardless of whether or not they affect the opinions expressed in this opinion letter.

 

We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion letter as Exhibit 5.2 to the Registration Statement and to the reference to our firm appearing under the caption “Legal Matters” in the Prospectus. In giving this consent, we do not thereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder.

 

Very truly yours,   /s/ White & Case LLP

 

Exhibit 23.1

 

CONSENT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

 

We hereby consent to the incorporation by reference in this Registration Statement Amendment No. 1 on Form F-3 of VivoPower International PLC of our report dated October 2, 2023 relating to the financial statements, which appears in VivoPower International PLC’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended June 30, 2023 (as amended). We also consent to the reference to us under the heading "Experts” in such Registration Statement.

 

 

/s/ PKF Littlejohn LLP		15 Westferry Circus
PKF Littlejohn LLP		Canary Wharf London E14 4HD

February 15, 2024

 

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