The sale gives Brookfield a minority share in four of Orsted’s operational offshore wind farms
The sale gives Brookfield a minority share in four of Orsted’s operational offshore wind farms in the U.K. It comes at a critical time for Orsted as the Danish renewable power developer tries to prove to investors that the market still has an appetite for embattled offshore wind.
Orsted saw its share price plummet last year as soaring costs and supply chain bottlenecks related to its U.S. offshore wind plans forced the company to make multi billion-dollar write-downs and fire two executives. In February, chief executive Mads Nipper unveiled a turnaround plan that included a more aggressive strategy to sell down stakes in its assets.
“Today’s transaction is an important milestone in the farm-down program as part of our business plan, supporting our significant re-investment in new assets,” Nipper said in a statement.
It’s the second major sign of investor appetite for Orsted and its assets this month after Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor ASA announced a US$2.5 billion stake in the company.
The wind farms include Hornsea 1, Hornsea 2, Walney Extension, and Burbo Bank Extension, which have a combined total capacity of approximately 3.5 gigawatts. Orsted will maintain a roughly 38% ownership interest in the projects and will continue to operate and maintain the wind farms.
Orsted shares fell as much as 1.9 per cent to 411.8 Danish krone.