FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Private equity funds, including Carlyle and Triton, are weighing bids for Germany-based industrial equipment maker REMA Tip Top, which is exploring a possible sale, three people familiar with the matter said.

The family-owned maker of industrial conveyor belts is working with an adviser to explore its options, which include a sale, the sources said. The stake size on offer has not yet been decided, two of the sources said.

The firm generated 1.4 billion euros of revenue in 2023, according to the company, putting its possible value north of 3 billion euros in any deal, for which formal talks could start after August, one of the sources said.

The owners are considering bringing on external investors to grow the business, the person said.

The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is private.

Carlyle and Triton declined to comment. REMA Tip Top did not immediately return requests for comment.

A sale would come amid a muted time for dealmaking after the revelation of U.S. tariffs in April put a halt on transactions.

Germany's economy, heavily dependant on exporting to an increasingly volatile world, has been stagnating for years. A government borrowing splurge is in the works but it remains unclear whether that will help.

The firm would be the latest family-owned company to come up for sale as a wave of business owners in Germany's so-called Mittelstand look to exit without successors.

REMA was founded in 1923 by brothers Otto and Willy Gruber as part of the Stahlgruber Group, concentrating on providing basic materials and tools for industry and trade in the 1920s as a supplier in the German industrial landscape.

The firm focuses on sustainable services in the field of conveyor and processing systems as well as tyre repair. Its business services are used in areas including the automotive industry, chemicals, energy, water treatment and pulp and paper.

REMA Tip Top has more than 9,000 employees and 200 subsidiaries worldwide, it says on its website.