In late September TerraForm Power and TerraForm Global both formally put up “for sale” signs and said they were looking for ways to move beyond their disastrous relationship with SunEdison, either by finding new equity sponsors or perhaps staking out on their own as independent companies.

A few days later the yieldcos confirmed a litany of legal claims against SunEdison totaling more than $3bn, alleging – among other things – that their ties to SunEdison have led to a massive loss of business opportunities for them and increased their cost of financing.

They also claim SunEdison breached its fiduciary responsibilities within their relationships, and insist they are willing to fight it out with SunEdison in the courts if necessary.

However, at the same time the yieldcos, which are listed separately on the US markets, appeared to offer something of an olive branch to their parent.

"We also recognise that resolving our relationship with SunEdison in the courts would be complicated and expensive,” said Jack Stark, chairman of the corporate governance and conflicts committees at both yieldcos.

“A settlement is overwhelmingly in the interests of both sides," Stark said.

On Monday, SunEdison made clear that it, too, prefers a settlement to a messy legal drama with its yieldcos, and acknowledged that a sales process is underway.

"Our Chapter 11 process has been long and complex and we are now at a critical stage as it relates to the yieldcos,” says John Dubel, a restructuring expert who replaced Ahmad Chatila as SunEdison’s chief executive in June.

"We take to heart Jack Stark's comments that a settlement of disputes between the yieldcos and SunEdison is overwhelmingly in the interests of both sides, and we will proceed with our settlement discussions while at the same time moving forward with the sale process."

A number of companies are reportedly interested in bidding for the yieldcos, including BlackRock, DE Shaw and a Chinese investor.

Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, the largest holder of Class A shares in TerraForm Power, was reportedly planning to make a joint bid with Appaloosa Management, but recent reports suggest Brookfield is unhappy with the details of the auction process.

Any sale would have to be approved by the court overseeing SunEdison's bankruptcy.

TerraForm Power owns about 3GW of operating solar and wind assets, mostly in the US, while TerraForm Global owns 917MW in developing economies.

In the meantime, SunEdison continues to sell off its global assets to a range of buyers, but the two yieldcos are seen as the crown jewels in the company's former empire.

SunEdison's Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April is the largest corporate US bankruptcy of 2016, with more than $16bn of liabilities reported.

The share price of US yieldcos have recovered in recent months, and several companies have once again started raising capital by issuing equity – an improvement that may be due in part to the progress being made in the SunEdison bankruptcy saga.