(Bloomberg) -- Orsted A/S, the world's biggest offshore wind-park operator, has agreed to sell a number of assets in a deal that lets it focus on renewable energy.
The company is selling its power distribution business, Radius, and two other units for 21.3 billion kroner ($3.15 billion), it said on Wednesday. SEAS-NVE, a Danish energy company which owns a minority stake in Orsted, is the buyer. The deal is expected to close in the first half of next year, with Orsted guiding it will book a divestment gain of about 11-12 billion kroner.
Orsted, which is roughly 50% owned by the Danish state, had put the businesses up for sale in June 2018. But a deal was delayed as Denmark headed for general elections. Lawmakers were also opposed to foreign buyout firms entering the process and tried to steer any sale toward local buyers.
Shares in the company fell about 2.2% after the deal was announced. SEAS-NVE said it will sell part of its existing stake in Orsted in connection with the asset purchase, bringing its holding to around 5% from 9.54%.
Read more: A $4 Billion Wake-Up Call Flags Political Risk to Orsted Owners
“With Orsted's global expansion in renewable energy, we're no longer the right owner,” Chief Executive Officer Henrik Poulsen said in the statement. “We'll use the proceeds from the divestment to continue our global investments in green energy.”
Danske Bank and Citigroup acted as financial advisers to Orsted.
To contact the reporters on this story: Christian Wienberg in Copenhagen at cwienberg@bloomberg.net;Frances Schwartzkopff in Copenhagen at fschwartzko1@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Tasneem Hanfi Brögger at tbrogger@bloomberg.net
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