HAMBURG (dpa-AFX) - According to a press report, the German energy group RWE wants to further expand its business with green electricity. The DAX-listed company has discussed a takeover of the Danish wind farm giant Ørsted, "Manager Magazin" reported on Wednesday. Together, the companies would make a European champion of alternative energy generation with a turnover of around 56 billion euros and 29,000 employees.

Initial talks have failed, the report continued. The Danish government, with a 50.1 percent majority stake in Ørsted, did not consider the current opportunity to be particularly favorable, unlike the RWE boss. Markus Krebber, however, is said not to regard the rejection as permanent. Ørsted did not want to comment on the information, and no one at RWE could be reached at first.

Ørsted has been in a difficult situation for several months. At the end of October 2023, the wind farm specialist had to halt the construction of two large projects off the coast of the US state of New Jersey because costs were getting out of hand. The company parted ways with two board members and wrote off the equivalent of almost four billion euros.

The shares plummeted by around 25 percent following the news, but subsequently recovered and reached their highest price level since the end of September at the beginning of this week./mne/ajx/he