Bloomberg News reported Monday that Denmark's Ørsted had begun selling a stake in the largest wind farm planned for the United Kingdom coast. The report was based on people familiar with this matter. Reports added that the Danish utility is looking to sell around 50% of the Hornsea 3 Project, but did not specify the price at which it would like to do so.
Ørsted's spokesperson confirmed that in February, the company said it had planned to sell its Hornsea III stake by 2025. In October, Brookfield purchased a minority stake in four of the company's British offshore wind farms that are currently operational for 1,75 billion pounds (2.28 billion dollars).
The transaction is expected to be completed by the end this year. It includes stakes in Hornsea 1, Hornsea 2 and Walney Extension as well as Burbo bank extension.
Orsted, in an effort to restore investor trust, lowered its investment and capacity goals and suspended dividend payments as part of major review.
In recent years, offshore wind developers' profits have shrunk due to rising costs of raw materials, high interest rates and inadequate grid connections. Chinese competition and supply chain bottlenecks also contributed to the decline. Companies like BP, Equinor and others were forced to reduce their ambitions.
Ørsted's operating profit group fell by 14% in the third quarter to 4,44 billion crowns.
(Reuters)