NEW YORK, May 13 (Reuters) - Private equity firm Cinven

is preparing to explore a sale of Jaggaer that it hopes will

value the maker of supply chain software at about $3 billion,

including debt, according to people familiar with the matter.

Cinven has tapped investment banks Goldman Sachs ( GS ) and Moelis ( MC )

to advise Jaggaer on its sale process that is expected to launch

later this year, six sources said, requesting anonymity as the

discussions are confidential.

The auction for Jaggaer is expected to attract other private

equity firms, the sources said.

Cinven is hoping to command a valuation for Jaggaer

equivalent to more than 20 times the company's 12-month earnings

before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization of about

$125 million, the sources said, adding that the company

generates about $300 million in annual revenue.

Jaggaer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Cinven, Goldman Sachs ( GS ) and Moelis ( MC ) declined to comment.

Jaggaer was founded in 1995 after four friends - Scott

Andrews, Bobby Feigler, Keith Gunter, and Peyton Anderson - came

upon the idea of creating an online directory for product

catalogs.

Over the years, the company pivoted to become a provider of

software that helps manage supply chains for multinational

corporations. Originally known as SciQuest, the company was

later rebranded as Jaggaer in 2017.

North Carolina-based Jaggaer provides cloud-based business

automation technology for large pharmaceutical corporations,

including AstraZeneca ( AZN ), Unilever ( UL ), and Merck KGaA

. It also serves customers in other industries

including large industrials firms and insurers.

UK-based Cinven, one of the largest private equity firms in

Europe, acquired a majority stake in Jaggaer from investment

firm Accel-KKR in 2019, in a deal that valued the company at

about $1.5 billion. Last year, Jaggaer appointed Andy Hovancik

as its new CEO.