Ørsted has just made Danish corporate history — and not in a way shareholders will celebrate. The renewable energy giant will raise 60 billion kroner in new capital, the largest such move ever by a Danish company.
The market’s reaction was brutal. Shares plunged nearly 30 percent, the biggest single-day fall in Ørsted’s history and the lowest closing price the stock has ever seen. For existing shareholders, the massive issuance of new shares means dilution and a sharp drop in value.
Half of the funding will come from Ørsted’s largest shareholder, the Danish state, which holds 50.1 percent of the company. That commitment alone — over 30 billion kroner — underscores both the scale of the crisis and the political will to keep Ørsted afloat.
The trouble stems from across the Atlantic. Ørsted’s flagship US project, Sunrise Wind, is designed to power 630,000 New York homes with offshore wind energy. But rising material and financing costs, a series of earlier project cancellations, and now outright hostility from President Donald Trump toward offshore wind have scared off potential partners. Unable to sell a stake, Ørsted must now finance the 40 billion kroner needed to complete the project itself.
Jakob Ussing, DR News’ business correspondent, calls it what it is: a crisis. “When plan A fails and you have to ask shareholders for this much money, you’re not operating from a position of strength.”
CEO Rasmus Errboe frames it as a rebuild. “It will be a long, tough stretch. But a capital injection of 60 billion is a necessary step on that journey. We will focus on Europe, energy security, and offshore wind. We are a Danish company, rooted in Denmark, with almost 4,000 employees here.”
For now, Ørsted is pressing ahead with Sunrise Wind — already 35 percent complete — betting that finishing the project is less risky than walking away. But with shareholders nursing historic losses and taxpayers on the hook for half the bill, this is no ordinary corporate stumble. It’s a test of whether Ørsted’s vision for green energy can survive the political and economic storms it faces.