Shares of Danish wind giant Orsted A/S slipped in European trading after the offshore wind developer launched its rights offering, pricing shares at a steep discount to Friday’s close. The move aims to raise what amounts to emergency capital to stabilize its balance sheet amid a broader downturn in the green-energy space and mounting uncertainty from the Trump administration’s freeze on one of its U.S. East Coast projects.
Here’s a breakdown of the rights offering (view documents):
-
Orsted will sell new shares at 66.6 kroner each – or about a 67% discount to Friday’s 200.3 kroner close to raise 60 billion Danish kroner ($9.4 billion). This is the largest rights issue by a European energy company in over a decade.
-
Rights offering will be used for restoring confidence after heavy losses tied to U.S. offshore wind bets. This will determine whether investors still believe in the long-term profitability of offshore wind.
-
CEO Rasmus Errboe said funds will cover immediate financing needs, including retaining full ownership of the Sunrise Wind project and managing U.S. regulatory risks
“We’re raising capital to cover immediate financing needs from retaining full ownership of Sunrise Wind, to manage risks from regulatory uncertainty in the US, and to strengthen Ørsted’s capital structure so we can deliver on our growth pipeline and long-term value creation,” Orsted’s CEO Rasmus Errboe wrote in a statement.
Important dates related to the rights offering: Subscription period for the rights offering will open on September 19 and close on October 2.
What’s transpired in recent months?
Well, it’s a combination of Orsted shares crashing in Copenhagen on news of the rights offering last month, the Trump administration freezing construction of its Rhode Island offshore wind project, and the broader unraveling of the globalist/Democrats’ green energy bubble:
The market’s response in Copenhagen today was muted. Year-to-date, the stock is down 39% and now trades below its IPO price.
Also related:
. . .
Loading recommendations…
