LONDON, May 16 (Reuters) - Online classifieds group

Adevinta is exploring the sale of its Spanish business, two

sources with knowledge of the talks said, as its private equity

owners seek to break-up the company to focus on three main

markets and boost returns.

Norway's Adevinta, acquired by a consortium led by

Blackstone and Permira a year ago, is working with

advisers on the sale of the Spanish business, which includes

brands such as job-search platform Infojobs or property website

Fotocasa, the sources said.

The business could fetch more than 2 billion euros ($2.2

billion), one of the two sources said. A third source said that

Adevinta's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and

amortisation (EBITDA) are around 130 million euros.

Blackstone and Permira declined to comment. Adevinta did not

immediately respond to requests for comment.

Online classifieds businesses have attracted increased

investor interest. Cinven acquired Spanish online real estate

classifieds platform Idealista last year and British real estate

portal Rightmove ( RTMVF ) rejected a proposal from Australian

property listing company REA Group ( RPGRF ) that valued it at

more than $8 billion.

Potential buyers of Adevinta's Spanish operations could

include financial sponsors and other companies with interest in

the online classifieds sector, one of the sources said, who

might seek to acquire part or all of Adevinta's assets in Spain.

Earlier this year, Adevinta agreed to sell its stake in

willhaben, Austria's leading digital consumer marketplace

business, and is considering the IPO of German online auto

marketplace Mobile.de in 2026, Reuters reported in January.

Adevinta's strategy has been to concentrate on its largest

markets - Germany, France and Benelux - since the buyout.

Adevinta owns six different marketplaces in Spain including

coches.net, a leading classifieds site for second-hand cars.

($1 = 0.8936 euros)