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 and Moelis 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 and Moelis 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, Unilever, 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. (Reporting by Milana Vinn in New York; Editing by Anirban Sen and Sonali Paul)