New York — Citing several unnamed sources familiar with the matter, Reuters reported last week that Reynolds and Reynolds is considering a sale to private equity firms in a deal that could be worth $5 billion. According to the report, Reynolds has hired technology-focused investment bank Qatalyst Partners to manage the process. It also indicated that Reynolds is already in talks with a few major private equity firms about a leveraged buyout.

As of press time, Qatalyst had not responded to a request for comment, and a representative with Reynolds and Reynolds said he could not comment on the matter.

“As a matter of policy and practice, we don’t comment on market rumors,” said Tom Schwartz, spokesman for the software company.

Deutsche Bank, according to the Reuters report, is also helping Reynolds, which claims more than $500 million in annual earnings, with the potential sales.

Founded in 1866 by Lucius Reynolds and his brother-in-law, Reynolds started as a company that printed standardized business forms. It didn’t begin serving auto dealers until the 1920s. The company was purchased by Universal Computer Systems’ Bob Brockman, the company’s current chief executive, in 2006 for $2.8 billion. The buyout was funded primarily by a group of investors that included Goldman Sachs Capital Partners, the private equity arm of Goldman Sachs Group, and Vista Equity Partners.