CMS advises consortium on acquisition of further investment in Ørsted's 1.2-GW Hornsea One Offshore Wind Farm

International law firm CMS has advised a consortium comprised of Equitix and The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) on its agreement to acquire from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) a further interest in the Hornsea One offshore wind farm, the largest operational offshore wind farm in the world. The acquisition is subject to customary consents and is expected to complete in the second half of this year. 

In March 2022, CMS advised the Equitix and TRIG consortium on the acquisition of a 12.5% interest in Hornsea One from GIP. This second acquisition will, upon completion, bring the consortium’s indirect interest in Hornsea One to 25%. 

The CMS team was led by Corporate Partner Danielle Heath. Danielle Heath comments: “We are very pleased to have been able to support Equitix and TRIG once again. Hornsea One is a flagship project for the global offshore wind sector. This transaction shows the keen interest that financial sponsors have in partnering with experienced developers as they focus on suitable investment opportunities. We look forward to continuing our work on these types of leading offshore wind deals in the years ahead as part of the energy transition.”

The wider CMS team included Michael Carroll, Konrad Rawicz, Buky Alakija and Miriam Mebarek (Corporate); Aaron Fairhurst and Jason Todd (Tax); Russell Hoare and Sebastian Casselbrant-Multala (Competition); Jonathan Dames, Stephanie Flynn, Will Fenn and Oliver Brown (Energy Project Finance); and Louise Dalton, Thomas Forman and Toby Commander (EPC).

This is the fourth disposal by GIP of its interest in Hornsea One. GLIL Infrastructure and Octopus Energy Group , advised by a separate CMS team led by Charles Currier, agreed to acquire a 12.5% each earlier this year. Greencoat UK Wind also agreed to acquire an interest of 12.5%.