VivoPower will procure Ripple Labs shares for the joint venture’s dedicated investment vehicle, resulting in budgeted management and performance fees for VivoPower of $75 million over 3 years
Lean Ventures is a licensed South Korean asset manager which manages funds for the Government of South Korea and other limited partners
VivoPower has received approval from Ripple for the purchase of an initial tranche of Ripple Labs shares
LONDON, Dec. 12, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- VivoPower International PLC (NASDAQ: VVPR) (the "Company"), today announced that its digital asset unit, Vivo Federation, has entered into a definitive joint venture agreement with Lean Ventures, an established and licensed South Korean asset manager, headquartered in Seoul.
Under the terms of the joint venture agreement, Lean Ventures will arrange for the establishment of a dedicated investment vehicle to acquire and hold an initial target of $300 million of Ripple Labs shares. Lean Ventures has already canvassed interest from qualified South Korean institutional and retail investors. This may include K-Weather, which recently entered into a heads of agreement with VivoPower for the Company to acquire an initial 20% shareholding in K-Weather. VivoPower is in the final stages of due diligence on this transaction.
Vivo Federation’s role in the Lean Ventures joint venture is to originate and procure Ripple Labs shares on behalf of the dedicated investment vehicle. VivoPower recently received written approval from Ripple Labs to purchase an initial tranche of Ripple Labs preferred shares and is now negotiating bilaterally to purchase additional Ripple Labs shares from institutional holders of Ripple Labs shares worth an estimated $300 million.
As part of the joint venture, Vivo Federation will receive a share of management fees and performance carry, which would target a net economic return for VivoPower of $75 million over 3 years based on an initial $300 million of assets under management. The structure of this agreement allows VivoPower to gain economic exposure to any future upside in the value of Ripple Labs and underlying XRP holdings, without committing capital from its own balance sheet.
Adam Traidman, Chairman of VivoPower’s Advisory Council, said: “We are delighted to have entered into this partnership with Lean Ventures, given its established status and reputation in South Korea. As we have noted previously, South Korea is a highly strategic market for Vivo Federation, given that it is the largest holder by value and number of XRP tokens in the world. With this dedicated investment vehicle, qualifying South Korean institutional and retail investors can gain exposure to Ripple Labs shares and, in turn, XRP at a material discount to the spot price.”
Chris Kim, Managing Partner of Lean Ventures, said: “There is significant appetite in South Korea amongst institutional and retail investors seeking to gain exposure to Ripple Labs shares. We are honored to be working with VivoPower and look forward to a longstanding and prosperous partnership.”
About VivoPower
Originally founded in 2014 and listed on Nasdaq since 2016, VivoPower operates with a global footprint spanning the United Kingdom, Australia, North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. An award-winning global sustainable energy solutions B Corporation, VivoPower has three business units, Tembo, Caret Digital, and Vivo Federation. Tembo is focused on electric solutions for off-road and on-road customized and ruggedized fleet applications, as well as ancillary financing, charging, battery, and microgrid solutions. Caret Digital is a power-to-x business focused on the highest and best use cases for renewable power, including digital asset mining. Vivo Federation is the digital asset arm of VivoPower, focused on XRPL based real-world blockchain applications and maintaining exposure to Ripple Labs shares and XRP tokens.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication includes certain statements that may constitute "forward-looking statements" for purposes of the U.S. federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements that refer to projections, forecasts, or other characterizations of future events or circumstances, including any underlying assumptions. The words "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intends," "may," "might," "plan," "possible," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "would" and similar expressions may identify forward-looking statements, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking. Forward-looking statements may include, for example, statements about the achievement of performance hurdles, or the benefits of the events or transactions described in this communication and the expected returns therefrom. These statements are based on VivoPower's management's current expectations or beliefs and are subject to risk, uncertainty, and changes in circumstances. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein due to changes in economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors, and other risks and uncertainties affecting the operation of VivoPower's business. These risks, uncertainties and contingencies include changes in business conditions, fluctuations in customer demand, changes in accounting interpretations, management of rapid growth, intensity of competition from other providers of products and services, changes in general economic conditions, geopolitical events and regulatory changes, and other factors set forth in VivoPower's filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. Due to circumstances outside of its control and/or any other unexpected developments, VivoPower may not ultimately procure any financial benefits from the above joint venture agreement. The information set forth herein should be read in light of such risks. VivoPower is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events, changes in assumptions or otherwise.
Media Contacts
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