Orsted makes $631 mln onshore wind acquisition in Ireland (updated)

Brookfield Renewable

16/04/2021 08:29

(Adds detail, CEO comment)
    By Nikolaj Skydsgaard
    COPENHAGEN, April 16 (Reuters) - Renewable energy group
Orsted  ORSTED.CO  has agreed to buy Brookfield Renewable's
Ireland and UK onshore wind business, its first step into
Europe's onshore wind market, in a deal valued at 571 million
euros ($683 million).
    Brookfield Renewable Ireland (BRI), headquartered in Cork,
develops and operates onshore wind farms in Ireland and the
United Kingdom. It has 389 megawatts in operation and under
construction, with a project pipeline of more than 1 gigawatt.
    "With the acquisition of BRI, we get a strong platform that
expands our presence in onshore renewables to Europe, allowing
us to continue our successful expansion of our onshore
renewables business," Chief Executive Mads Nipper said in a
statement.
    The transaction, the final price of which is subject to
adjustment, is expected to close in the second quarter of this
year. 
    Orsted, the world's largest developer of offshore wind
farms, only entered the onshore wind market in 2018, mainly in
the United States, where it operates 1 gigawatt worth of wind
assets. 
    BRI, which has 73 employees, will continue to run its
business with its own management team as it becomes a part of
Orsted's Onshore division.  
    ($1 = 0.8358 euros)

 (Reporting by Nikolaj Skydsgaard
Editing by David Goodman and David Holmes)
 ((Nikolaj.Skydsgaard@thomsonreuters.com;))