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Ørsted A/S (Orsted)
Ørsted divests share of four US onshore wind farms to Stonepeak
13-March-2024 / 08:00 CET/CEST
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13.3.2024 08:00:01 CET | Ørsted A/S | Investor News
Through the partnership with Stonepeak, Ørsted will recycle capital to
support its business plan and future value-creating renewable energy
projects.
Ørsted has signed a transaction with Stonepeak, a leading alternative
investment firm specialising in infrastructure and real assets, whereby
Ørsted will divest to Stonepeak an equity ownership stake in a portfolio
consisting of four US onshore wind farms with a total capacity of 957 MW.
In continuation of Ørsted’s farm-down programme, this transaction
represents the company's first partnership with Stonepeak and the second
major farm-down of multiple assets in the US.
The value of the transaction is approximately USD 300 million. In
addition, Ørsted has previously raised approximately USD 700 million in
tax equity proceeds for this portfolio, bringing the total proceeds raised
to approximately USD 1 billion. Going forward, Stonepeak will receive 80 %
of the cash distributions associated with the projects, while Ørsted will
continue to operate the portfolio of assets.
As part of the transaction, Ørsted retains a unilateral call option for
Stonepeak’s interests that can be exercised under certain circumstances
after the closing of the transaction. While structured differently, the
transaction broadly corresponds to Ørsted’s historical farm-down approach,
in which ownership shares of existing operating assets are divested in
order to recycle and redeploy capital for future value-creating projects.
The unique partnership structure allows Ørsted to maximise capital
redeployment while also retaining operational decision-making and
long-term optionality around the portfolio.
David Hardy, Executive Vice President and CEO of Region Americas at
Ørsted, said: “This deal signifies the value that our US onshore renewable
energy projects can deliver to our investors while also demonstrating the
holistic and flexible approach we take to partnerships and divestments.
While Ørsted will continue to operate each asset over its lifetime, we’ll
use this capital to fund projects that continue to create the most value
for our stakeholders and fuel our growth in the renewable energy sector.”
Anthony Borreca, Senior Managing Director at Stonepeak, said: “The need
for efficient infrastructure with the power to further the energy
transition continues to grow, and onshore wind continues to play a major
role in helping to meet that demand. Ørsted’s US onshore assets are young
and have been built with trusted technology, which gives us confidence in
their potential to make a meaningful and positive long-term impact on the
communities they serve. We look forward to partnering closely with Ørsted
on this highly contracted, geographically diverse portfolio.”
Facts about the portfolio
• The portfolio consists of four wind farms across three states: The
Ford Ridge Wind project in Illinois, the Helena Wind and Western Trail
Wind projects in Texas, and the Sunflower Wind project in Kansas.
• The deal represents a total capacity of 957 MW across three different
markets: the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT),
Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO), and Southwest Power
Pool (SPP).
• The projects are all currently operational and have power purchase
agreements in place for all or parts of the production capacity.
• Ørsted will be the managing member of the partnership and will
continue to provide asset management services to the projects.
Ørsted currently has a portfolio of nearly 6 GW of onshore wind, solar,
and battery storage projects in operation and under construction across
the US.
For further information, please contact:
Ørsted Global Media Relations
Tom Christiansen
+45 99 55 60 17
1 tomlc@orsted.com
Ørsted Investor Relations
Rasmus Keglberg Hærvig
+45 99 55 90 95
2 IR@orsted.com
Stonepeak
Kate Beers and Maya Brounstein
+1 (646) 540-5225.
3 corporatecomms@stonepeak.com
About Ørsted
The Ørsted vision is a world that runs entirely on green energy. Ørsted
develops, constructs, and operates offshore and onshore wind farms, solar
farms, energy storage facilities, renewable hydrogen and green fuels
facilities, and bioenergy plants. Ørsted is recognised on the CDP Climate
Change A List as a global leader on climate action and was the first
energy company in the world to have its science-based net-zero emissions
target validated by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Headquartered in Denmark, Ørsted employs approximately 8,900 people.
Ørsted's shares are listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen (Orsted). In 2023, the
group's revenue was DKK 79.3 billion (EUR 10.6 billion). Visit
4 orsted.com or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.
About Stonepeak
Stonepeak is a leading alternative investment firm specialising in
infrastructure and real assets with approximately USD 61.1 billion of
assets under management. Through its investment in defensive, hard-asset
businesses globally, Stonepeak aims to create value for its investors and
portfolio companies, with a focus on downside protection and strong
risk-adjusted returns. Stonepeak, as sponsor of private equity and credit
investment vehicles, provides capital, operational support, and committed
partnership to grow investments in its target sectors, which include
communications, energy and energy transition, transport and logistics, and
real estate. Stonepeak is headquartered in New York with offices in Hong
Kong, Houston, London, Singapore, and Sydney. For more information, please
visit 5 www.stonepeak.com.
Attachments
• 6 Farm-down.pdf
News Source: Ritzau
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Dissemination of a Regulatory Announcement, transmitted by EQS Group.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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ISIN: DK0060094928
Category Code: MSCM
TIDM: Orsted
Sequence No.: 309261
EQS News ID: 1857309
End of Announcement EQS News Service
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References
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1. mailto:tomlc@orsted.com
2. mailto:IR@orsted.com
3. mailto:corporatecomms@stonepeak.com
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