DENMARK – Danish commercial pension fund PFA has linked up with energy company SE to buy the entire onshore wind-power business from state enterprise Dong Energy for DKK760m (€102m).
SE Blue Renewables – a new joint venture formed by PFA and Denmark's SE – is buying all of Dong Energy's onshore wind power business, consisting of 272 wind turbines.
The new company aims to become the market leader in onshore wind turbines in Denmark, as well as in nearby countries.
Dong Energy decided to sell its onshore wind power business to focus on offshore wind in future, the energy firm said.
Henrik Poulsen, chief executive at Dong Energy, said: "Going forward, our competences and capital will be deployed in offshore wind, where we have a strong and differentiated competitive platform."
Jesper Langmack, director at PFA Asset Management, said: "At PFA, we have evaluated several wind energy projects over a long period of time. When we saw this opportunity, we decided to take it."
The investment represented a new form of active ownership in Denmark's onshore wind power sector that had not been seen before, he said.
SE will include the nine onshore wind turbines it owns in the joint venture, adding a further 25 MW.
SE and PKA will each hold 50% of the new joint venture.
Ole Fruekilde Madsen from SE has been appointed chairman of the new company, while Langmack will be deputy chairman.
The deal is expected to be completed later this year following approval from Danish competition authorities.
Several of Denmark's large labour-market pension funds have invested in wind power recently, signalling their appetite for more infrastructure exposure of this kind.
Denmark is a leader in wind power technology, with Danish manufacturers including Vestas and Siemens Wind Power today producing nearly half of all wind turbines around the world.
Last year, the Danish government set a target to increase the proportion of electricity production from wind to 50% by 2020.
