Five suitors are understood to have been shortlisted to buy Spark Infrastructure Group's renewable energy business, with Iberdrola, S.A. (BME:IBE) and APA Group (ASX:APA) believed to be in the final mix. The operation is up for sale through Lazard Ltd. (NYSE:LAZ). Origin Energy Limited (ASX:ORG) is understood to have lobbed a final offer, but did not make it through to the last round.

The Spark sale process has attracted strong interest, with suitors prepared to pay up. Some have suggested that APA may be working with adviser Ironstone Capital. The renewables unit was always expected to hit the block following the buyout because it is non-core to the overall operation.

The main asset is the 100 megawatt Bomen Solar Farm in Wagga Wagga, estimated to be worth about $200 million. The farm received development consent in October 2018 and began operating in the second quarter of 2020. Spark also has the Dinawan Energy Hub, a hybrid wind, solar and storage project with a generation capacity of up to 2.5 gigawatts in the Riverina region and the NSW South-West Renewable Energy Zone.

Other assets include the Mallee wind and battery storage project with a capacity of up to 1GW in NSW's Wentworth Shire; the Yorke Peninsula Energy Hub - a 600-to 850-megawatt community-initiated development on South Australia's Yorke Peninsula; and the Mates Gully Solar Farm that is a proposed 160MW solar and battery storage development 30km east of Wagga Wagga.