Ørsted Raises EUR 7.98 Billion in Oversubscribed Rights Issue

Ørsted has completed its rights issue, raising DKK 59.56 billion (approximately EUR 7.98 billion) with a subscription rate of approximately 99.3 per cent, the company said on 6 October.

Existing shareholders were offered new shares at DKK 66.60 (EUR 8.92) each. The demand for shares not taken up via the rights issue was “extraordinarily high,” according to the developer’s announcement of the Rights Issue results, and allocations were capped per application, meaning no subscriptions were required under the underwriting bank syndicate.

As reported in August, the company appointed a syndicate of BNP PARIBAS, Danske Bank A/S and J.P. Morgan SE as Joint Global Coordinators, next to Morgan Stanley & Co International, to jointly underwrite the rights issue for the approximately 49.9 per cent that would not be subscribed to by Ørsted’s majority shareholder, the Danish state (50.1 per cent).

Ørsted Plans Rights Issue to Fund Building US Offshore Wind Farm Alone, Danish State Commits as Majority Subscriber Business & Finance Equinor to Participate in Ørsted’s Rights Issue as 10 Pct Shareholder Business & Finance A total of 894,298,680 new shares were subscribed, of which 451,522,164, around 50.1 per cent, were taken up by the Danish state under its subscription commitment.

Announcing the intention to launch the rights issue in early August 2025, Ørsted said it would seek to raise around DKK 60 billion (EUR 8 billion) after failing to divest half of the 924 MW Sunrise Wind project in the US, as per its usual business approach, and needing to build the entire project on its balance sheet.

Shareholders approved the plan at an extraordinary general meeting in early September, and the offer price was set later that month at a steep discount to Ørsted’s market price.

The majority of the raised proceeds will go to building Sunrise Wind, with the rest earmarked to help strengthen Ørsted’s capital structure and provide financial flexibility, including covering any unexpected costs resulting from the currently unstable US offshore wind market, where its Revolution Wind project was recently stopped mid-construction and restarted after the company took legal action.

At the Sunrise Wind site, located in the federal waters off New York, construction is also underway, with the first foundations and the offshore substation installed. The first wind turbines at Sunrise Wind are expected to be installed in early 2026, with the offshore wind farm on track to be commissioned in the second half of 2027, according to a project update recently shared by Ørsted.

LinkedIn X Google News