NEW YORK, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Private equity firm KKR

is exploring a sale of its information services provider

BMC Helix, which could fetch as much as $1.5 billion, according

to people familiar ​with the matter.

Helix, which is being ‌advised by investment bankers at Jefferies

, has already received initial bids from other private

equity ⁠firms and corporate buyers, the sources said, requesting

anonymity to discuss ⁠matters that are not public.

KKR and Jefferies declined ‌to comment, while ‌BMC Helix did not

respond to a request for comment.

The planned sale would test ​appetite for software deals at a

time ‌when concerns about artificial intelligence's potential to

disrupt the sector have weighed on valuations and slowed

dealmaking.

BMC Helix is ​an AI-driven IT service management ​platform that

helps ‌enterprises automate service desks, manage incidents and

assets, and monitor hybrid IT environments. It competes with

other IT service management providers, including ⁠ServiceNow

.

The business generates around $150 million in earnings before

interest, taxes, ⁠depreciation and amortization and $750 million

in annual recurring revenue, the sources said. The sale of the

company could value Helix at eight to 10 times its core profit,

or as much as $1.5 billion, the ⁠sources added.

The ‌sale follows KKR's 2025 decision to spin off ‌the Helix

product into an independent company focused on IT service ⁠and

operations. Its previous parent, BMC Software, has continued to

focus on its mainframe automation and software business.

KKR plans to begin groundwork on an initial public offering for

BMC as early as 2026 after the sale of Helix, the sources said.

Software valuations have taken a hit in recent weeks after

public ​market investors began to worry that advancements in

artificial intelligence could disrupt software business models.

The software selloff has also put some M&A ​and IPO activity on

pause.