Orsted is looking to sell its Danish power distribution and residential customer businesses as they do not support the company’s long-term growth plans in renewables.
Cash from any potential sale will be added to the company’s overall capital planning, Orsted said.
The Danish utility has initiated what it calls a “structured process” to gauge market interest in the assets at a “good price and satisfactory terms and conditions of sales”.
Orsted also said it will set up a new Customer Solutions business, headed by executive vice president Morten Buchgreitz, to merge activities across its corporate customer and trading units.
Buchgreitz will also be in charge of the businesses up for divestment which will be organised into a separate business unit, Orsted said.
A final decision on the divestment will be made before the end of the first half of 2019, Orsted said.
Danske Bank has been appointed as advisor for the process.
Orsted’s power distribution business Radius has about 1 million customers, while the residential business has about 733,000 electricity and 91,000 gas consumers.
The company’s City Light unit, which operates and maintains approximately 160,000 street lights, is also part of the sale consideration.
Image: Orsted
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