PARIS: French utility Engie SA and Danish investor Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) are competing for the European onshore wind business of Orsted A/S, according to sources.
Final bids for the assets are expected this week. The business could be valued at about 1bil (US$1.2bil) or slightly more.
Deliberations are ongoing and the companies could still decide against a deal, the people said. Representatives for Engie, CIP and Orsted declined to comment.
The Danish renewable developer put its European onshore wind business up for sale earlier this year as part of a broader effort to repair its balance sheet – including via a massive capital increase – after facing a string of setbacks in the once-promising US offshore wind market.
Most of Orsted’s portfolio of onshore wind facilities in operation or in construction in Europe are located in Ireland, with a few farms also located in the UK and Germany, according to the company’s website.
Ireland, which closed its last coal-fired power station this year, may seek to boost power production as it continues to shift away from fossil fuels and competes to attract more data centres.
CIP agreed to acquire a 50% stake in Statkraft AB’s offshore wind portfolio in Ireland. It pledged to spend more than 4bil to develop up to 2.2GW0 of offshore wind there by 2030. Last year, Engie agreed to buy a small portfolio of French onshore wind projects from Orsted. — Bloomberg
