Record disinvestment exceeds targets by 31%.
Ørsted has successfully completed its ambitious divestment program with the sale of its European onshore business to Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) for €1.44 billion. This transaction, together with the sales of 50% of Hornsea 3 and 55% of Changhua 2, has generated total proceeds of approximately DKK 46 billion, significantly exceeding the initial target of DKK 35 billion set for the period 2025-2026.
The strategic value of this transaction goes beyond the numbers. Trond Westlie, Ørsted’s CFO, confirmed that the divestment “substantially strengthens the financial position” of the company, providing the necessary investment muscle to compete in the upcoming offshore wind tenders in Europe. The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2026.
For CIP, this acquisition represents a considerable expansion of its European presence. Mads Skovgaard-Andersen, the firm’s CIO, noted that the combined portfolio of onshore wind, solar and battery storage (BESS) provides them with “the scale needed to accelerate the deployment of renewable energy” on the continent, strengthening European energy independence while offering risk-adjusted returns to their investors.
Total commitment to offshore wind energy
Ørsted’s decision to completely sell its European onshore platform marks an unprecedented strategic turning point in the industry. The company, a world leader with more than 30 years of experience in offshore wind, has decided to concentrate all its resources on the European offshore segment, where it anticipates a “significant amount of capacity to be tendered in the coming years.” This move reflects absolute confidence in the growth potential of the European offshore wind market.
The onshore business that Ørsted is transferring to CIP currently operates in four strategic markets: Ireland, the United Kingdom, Germany and Spain. The portfolio includes 578 MW of operating capacity, 248 MW under construction and multiple projects in the development phase covering onshore wind, solar and battery storage systems.
The geographic refocusing strategy is also revealing. By concentrating on “its core European markets,” it is simultaneously positioning itself to capitalize on the energy policies of the European Union, which has set aggressive decarbonization targets.
Ørsted: Financial transformation and future projection
The magnitude of this business restructuring is best understood by analyzing Ørsted’s entire portfolio. The company maintains more than 18 GW of installed renewable energy capacity distributed across Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. With approximately 8,000 employees and shares listed on Nasdaq Copenhagen, Ørsted reported an operating profit of DKK 24.8 billion (€3.3 billion) in 2024.
The company’s vision of “a world that runs entirely on green energy” is now being pursued with a laser focus on European offshore wind. Widely recognized as a world leader in sustainability, the Danish company is redefining its business model to maximize impact in the segment where it has the strongest competitive advantage. The success or failure of this concentration strategy will be measured in the coming years, when European tenders will reveal whether Ørsted’s gamble was visionary or excessively risky.
Source: https://orsted.com/
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