Apollo acquires half of Hornsea 3 for $6.5bn

Apollo Global Management-managed funds have agreed to take a half share in Ørsted’s Hornsea 3, in a deal that values the tranche at $6.5 billion and positions Apollo as a 50:50 partner in what will become one of the world’s largest offshore wind projects. The investment includes both the acquisition price for the equity stake and a commitment to fund 50% of remaining construction costs.

Hornsea 3 sits in the North Sea’s Hornsea zone and, once built, will deliver 2.9GW of capacity — enough low-carbon power for roughly 3 million UK households. Under the agreement, Ørsted will continue to build the project under a full-scope EPC contract and will retain responsibility for long-term operations, maintenance and market access for the farm’s output.

Apollo’s infrastructure team framed the move as both strategic and catalytic. Adam Petrie, a senior figure on Apollo’s infrastructure platform, said the group is deploying patient capital to scale critical transition assets and bolster UK energy security. Leslie Mapondera, Apollo partner and co-head of European credit, described the arrangement as a tailored capital package combining equity and senior financing to carry the project through construction.

Ørsted’s finance chief welcomed the capital and operational partnership as complementary to the company’s divestment strategy, noting the deal advances its programme to recycle capital into new developments. The transaction remains conditional on regulatory sign-offs and is expected to close before the end of 2025, with Apollo funds providing about $3.25 billion at completion and the remainder staged as construction milestones are met.

Senior debt for the transaction is being arranged by Apollo-managed financing vehicles and underwritten by major European banks, with BNP Paribas, ING, Lloyds and RBC Capital Markets listed as lead underwriters. Institutional co-investors include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) and PSP Investments, which are participating across the transaction’s equity and debt elements.

The operation lands amid an active period for infrastructure capital in Europe. Offshore wind is a core pillar of the UK’s net-zero pathway: the country’s installed offshore capacity now sits in the tens of gigawatts and the Hornsea series has become a material portion of that pipeline.

From an investor perspective, the deal continues a pattern of large-scale energy commitments by Apollo in Europe — following recent support for grid expansion in Germany and sizeable financing packages for UK nuclear and pipeline assets — signalling strong appetite for transition infrastructure with stable long-term returns.