Renewables developer Ørsted has entered into an agreement with German developer Ostwind to acquire 100% of its equity interest.
The transaction has been valued at €689 million (US$704 million) which includes financial liabilities of the projects and companies, and is expected to close during the second half of 2022.
The German developer has been mostly active in onshore wind development in Germany and France and has an onshore development pipeline of 1GW, of which 88MW is solar PV.
With the acquisition, Ørsted will enter the German and French onshore renewable market and expand its European presence in the onshore renewables industry, after setting up an onshore unit in Spain last month with a multi-gigawatt target.
Moreover, it will further accelerate the Danish company’s renewables ambitions after Gazprom halted its supply of gas to Ørsted last month, prompted by the company’s refusal to pay in roubles.
The standoff prompted its CEO, Mads Nipper, to call for a faster deployment of renewables in Europe.
Neil O’Donovan, CEO of Ørsted onshore, said: “The acquisition of Ostwind is an important step for the strategic expansion of our Onshore business in Europe.
“I’m truly excited about Ostwind becoming part of Ørsted and for our entrance into two important markets, one of which is already key for our offshore business.”
Existing management team at Ostwind will continue to run the company, which will be integrated into the Danish utility’s onshore business division over time.
