Oct 23 (Reuters) - German shipbuilder Luerssen and

defence group Rheinmetall could emerge as potential

suitors for the warship division of conglomerate Thyssenkrupp

, two people familiar with the matter said.

It comes a day after news that private equity firm Carlyle

had dropped out of the process for Thyssenkrupp Marine

Systems (TKMS), in what was a blow to Thyssenkrupp's ongoing

restructuring and had weighed on shares.

Rheinmetall and Luerssen declined comment.

Thyssenkrupp referred to comments made on Tuesday, when it

said it would intensify efforts to find a standalone solution

for TKMS, including a possible spin-off, adding that it also

remained open to industrial partnerships.

Handelsblatt reported earlier, citing industry sources, that

Luerssen had expressed interest in TKMS and that talks were also

being held with Rheinmetall about a potential deal.

Thyssenkrupp Chief Executive Miguel Lopez in August told

analysts he was confident that efforts to sell TKMS, either to a

consortium of buyers or via a spin-off, would succeed in "coming

months".

For a long time, Luerssen had shown no interest because the

risks would have been too great and the business too complex,

Handelsblatt reported, adding that view has since changed but

the company would only step in if the German government also

agreed to buy a stake.

Thyssenkrupp previously said it remained in talks with the

government about a possible minority stake sale in TKMS.