Ørsted sells shares at a deep discount as the firm urgently seeks capital

The world's biggest offshore wind farm developer, Ørsted, is raising much-needed fresh capital by launching a rights issue. This means that the firm is going to sell an additional 900.8 million new shares for DKK 66.60 (€8.92) per piece.

The company's shares were trading at around DKK 192.50 on Monday afternoon, after they dipped by almost 4%. The rights issue offers a 67% discount compared to Friday's closing price of around DKK 200.

Ørsted aims to raise DKK 60 billion (€8bn), giving existing shareholders priority to purchase new shares to protect their proportional ownership and influence.

The decision comes after the wind farm developer has faced difficulties with its investments in the US, where the Trump administration has halted a series of offshore projects.

Ørsted sued the administration after its Revolution Wind project received a stop-work order from the US authorities at the end of August, claiming that the decision to block construction of the nearly finished project near Rhode Island was illegal.

Further developments are facing uncertainty in the US, and the pressure is mounting on Ørsted’s other US offshore wind project, Sunrise Wind. This is a 924-megawatt (MW) offshore wind farm located off the coast of New York's Montauk Point.

Ørsted became the sole owner of the project in July 2024 by acquiring US-based energy company Eversource's stake in Sunrise Wind.

"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," president and CEO of Ørsted, Rasmus Errboe, said in a statement.

Raising capital is also a means to bolster Ørsted's financial resilience in the next two years. Within this period, the firm said it will complete 8.1 GW of offshore wind projects and eye "potential investments in new offshore wind projects" in "core" European markets.

Current shareholders can subscribe to purchase the new shares during the period from 19 September to 2 October 2025.