Arowana - Achievement in Organization Recovery

Company: Arowana, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Company Description: Arowana is a global B Corp certified group that has been recognised for the 2nd straight year in the Real Leaders Impact Awards. We are committed to delivering a triple bottom line of Planet, People and Profit. Our purpose is to Grow People, Grow Companies and Grow Value. Never losing sight of our long-term commitment to have a positive impact on economies, industries and the people we employ.
Nomination Category: Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Achievement in Organization Recovery

Nomination Title: Arowana's VivoPower Turnaround to Growth

Arowana is a global B-Corp certified group recognised for the 2nd straight year in the 2021 Real Leaders Impact Awards, ranked at #27 (ranked #10 in 2020). Our purpose is to Grow People, Companies and Value across our operating companies and investments, which includes VivoPower International (“VivoPower”) a NASDAQ listed sustainable energy solutions company encompassing solar, electric vehicles, battery technology and critical power services.

In March 2020, Arowana’s founder, Kevin Chin, stepped in as CEO of VivoPower as the stock price was languishing below US$1 with a market cap of only US$10m. With imminent COVID-19 lockdowns threatening its key markets, VivoPower looked doomed.

Arowana alongside VivoPower executed a hyperturnaround plan codenamed "Operation Sunfish", targeting the following problems:

-Projected liquidity runway of only 5 weeks cash remaining.
-Many overdue creditors of 120 days, which accumulated to over USD$8m.
-With the stock trading below $1, it was at risk of being relegated to the OTC Pink Sheets market, rendering capital raising impossible.
-The company culture had deteriorated since the IPO with a myopic mindset focused on short-term bonuses.
-VivoPower’s former strategy of focusing on solar development at the time of its IPO was no longer appropriate.

As a result of Operation Sunfish", VivoPower's share price hit a high of US$24 in October 2020, representing a 2400% increase in just 7 months, and successfully raised US$28.75m.
https://arowanaco.com/2020/02/26/vivopower-reports-hyperturnaround-with-63-revenue-growth-and-jump-in-ebitda-profit/
https://vivopower.com/news-and-insights/vivopower-raises-usd28-75-million-in-upsized-public-share-offering/

-VivoPower extended its liquidity runway through key executives taking equity compensation and cutting all non-essential costs.
-Deferred payment plans up to 9 months were negotiated and agreed with all overdue creditors.
-The share price recovered strongly through the CEO increasing engagement with the investment community with regular and consistent updates through the NASDAQ PR platform. In addition, a new VivoPower website and a more dynamic logo were launched. https://arowanaco.com/2021/01/01/vivopower-upgraded-website

The CEO “defibrillated” the culture, by:
-challenging the team to prove the naysayers wrong, fostering a “siege mentality”;
-aligning the team with performance shares with a strike price of below $1. As the stock price rose over the ensuing months, this became incrementally motivational;
-driving execution excellence, with defined quarterly “Objectives and Key Results” (OKRs) and daily huddles to ingrain a mindset of daily achievement and accountability: close something daily, no matter how small it is.

A transformational strategic pivot to electric vehicles (EVs) was engineered, with an acquisition of Tembo e-LV B.V. (Tembo), who specialises in EVs in mining and infrastructure sectors. VivoPower pivoted from a solar development and critical power services company competing in a “red ocean” to deliver end-to-end sustainable energy solutions, enabling customers to decarbonize and accelerate towards net zero status, a “blue ocean” strategy. https://arowanaco.com/2020/10/15/vivopower-signs-definitive-agreement/

As a result ofsuccessfully consummating an oversubscribed US$28.75m capital raising, VivoPower was able to fund the acquisition of Tembo, a specialist battery-electric and off-road vehicle company, completing the transformation of VivoPower from a solar development company competing in a “red ocean” to a comprehensive Sustainable Energy Solution (SES) provider. This service encompasses the design and development of electric vehicles, site electrification and infrastructure, and battery lifecycle management. This is a “blue ocean” strategy given very few companies deliver a holistic net zero solution.

Supported by these developments,in 2021, VivoPower has been recognized as a top 50 impact company globallyas ranked by the prestigious Real Leaders Impact Awards, only 10 months after being in crisis mode.

Since the acquisition of Tembo, VivoPower has signed a US$250m partnership with GB Auto Group in Australia making GB Auto the exclusive Australia-wide distributor of Tembo’s EV kits.

VivoPower also became the Official Battery Partner of UK Premier League football club, Tottenham Hotspur, to develop a sustainable energy solution for the club’s stadium and training grounds as the club looks to become a zero-carbon business.

In addition, VivoPower was recently awarded a contract to complete all electrical works for the 200MW Blue Grass Solar Farm located in Queensland, Australia.

VivoPower is now focused on hyperscaling and helping its customers achieve net zero carbon status and has recently become a partner of the Electric Mine Consortium.

See below for all achievements and developments VivoPower has accomplished since Operation Sunfish.

The following are the press releases for VivoPower’s developments since the successful execution of Operation Sunfish.

VivoPower’s stock price chart illustrating the hyperturnaround strategy https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/NASDAQ-VVPR/
VivoPower’s acquisition of Tembo e-LV https://arowanaco.com/2020/10/15/vivopower-signs-definitive-agreement/
VivoPower’s closes US$ 28.75 million public share offering https://arowanaco.com/2020/10/21/vivopower-announces-closing-of-28-75-million/
VivoPower recognized in Global Top 50 in 2021 “Real Leaders Impact Awards” https://vivopower.com/news-and-insights/vivopower-recognized-in-global-top-50-in-2021-real-leaders-impact-awards/
VivoPower enters partnership with GB Auto for US$250 million Tembo Distribution in Australia https://arowanaco.com/2020/12/23/vivopower-enters-heads-of-agreement-with-gb-auto-for-250m-tembo-distribution-in-australia/
VivoPower enters clean energy partnership with English Premier League club, Tottenham Hotspur https://arowanaco.com/2021/04/09/vivopower-battery-partnership-tottenham-hotspur/
VivoPower wins contract for 200MW Blue Grass Solar Far in Queensland https://vivopower.com/news-and-insights/j-a-martin-wins-contract-for-200-mw-blue-grass-solar-farm-in-queensland/
Launch of VivoPower’s upgraded website https://arowanaco.com/2021/01/01/vivopower-upgraded-website/