Denmark's Orsted said on Monday it agreed to sell a 50 per cent stake in Britain's Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm for around 39 billion Danish crowns ($6.1 billion), widely regarded as a crucial move to prevent a crippling credit rating downgrade.
Orsted, the world's largest offshore wind developer, is trying to restore investor confidence as it faces rising costs from supply chain disruptions and inflation, as well as uncertainty resulting from US President Donald Trump's popular opposition to renewable energy.
The stake in the 8.5-billion-pound ($11.41 billion) project was sold to New York-listed Apollo Global Management, which manages more than $800 billion in assets, leaving Orsted with 50 per cent ownership.
"The transaction represents a key milestone in Orsted's funding plan and balances the key objectives for partnerships and divestments with an emphasis on capital management," Orsted said in a statement.
Apollo's investment includes a 50 per cent stake and a commitment to fund 50 per cent of the project's remaining construction costs, the company added.
Orsted in October raised $9.4 billion through a heavily discounted rights issue to shore up its balance sheet, and later announced it would cut about a quarter of its workforce by the end of 2027. Shares closed at 115 Danish crowns on Monday, marking an 85 per cent drop from their 2021 peak.
The 2.9-gigawatt Hornsea 3 project in the North Sea, expected to become the world's biggest offshore wind farm upon completion in 2027, will supposedly produce enough energy to power more than three million homes in Britain.
Orsted in May discontinued its Hornsea 4 project, citing steep supply chain costs, higher interest rates and increased execution risk, and said the cancellation would cost the company up to 5.5 billion Danish crowns.
(Reporting by Louise Breusch Rasmussen, Gwladys Fouche and Stine Jacobse; editing by Terje Solsvik, Bill Berkrot and Deepa Babington)