Australia’s Macquarie has halted the sale of Corio Generation, one of the largest offshore wind power developers, due to a lack of interest amid challenging market conditions for offshore wind.

The decision comes as the merger and acquisition market faces disruptions caused by the Trump administration’s opposition to renewable energy and the global tariff war affecting markets, as reported by Reuters.

Macquarie engaged advisers in 2024 to seek a buyer for Corio Generation, which manages a 25GW pipeline of offshore wind projects across Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. The company now plans to downsize the projects.

A Corio spokesperson stated: “Given challenging market conditions in the offshore wind sector, Corio Generation is refocusing its global operations to prioritise the development of a smaller portfolio of projects which have the clearest route through to construction.”

The spokesperson further stated: “This will also require a restructure of the organisation to reflect that change in strategy. We are discussing this with our project partners and staff who may be affected by these changes.”

A spokesperson for Macquarie declined to comment.

The offshore wind market faces increasing challenges, with many projects needing re-evaluation due to rising construction costs, higher interest rates and supply chain issues.

Energy companies have slowed the construction of US offshore wind farms, particularly after US President Donald Trump suspended new offshore wind leasing upon his return to office in January 2025.

In June 2024, Macquarie Asset Management completed the acquisition of a 49.9% stake in renewable energy provider Hydro Rein, a subsidiary of Hydro, for $332m.

This investment, first announced in October 2023, strengthens the renewable energy sector, especially in the Nordics and Brazil.