Apollo buys Orsted's 50% share in UK wind farm at $6 billion

Orsted, a Danish company, announced on Monday that it had agreed to sell half of its interest in Britain's Hornsea 3 off-shore wind farm for 39 billion Danish crowns (6.09 billion dollars). This is widely considered a vital move to avoid a crippling downgrade to the credit rating. Orsted, world's biggest offshore wind developer, is trying to restore investor trust as it faces rising costs due to supply chain disruptions, inflation and uncertainty caused by U.S. president Donald Trump's anti-renewable energy stance.

Orsted retained 50% ownership of the project after the company announced that it had sold its stake to Apollo Global Management. The New York-listed firm manages over $800 billion worth of assets.

Orsted stated that the transaction was a milestone in its funding plan, and balanced key objectives of partnerships and divestments while focusing on capital management. Orsted raised $9.4bn in October through a rights issue at a discount to strengthen its balance sheet. It then announced that it would reduce its workforce by a quarter by the end 2027.

(source: Reuters)