An auction for part of the industrial solutions business of Pentair plc (PNR) is in the prep phase and could launch in the next few months, The Deal has learned.

Citigroup Inc. has been preparing a process and has held talks with a limited group of parties but has yet to speak with a broad universe of potential buyers of the business, three people familiar with the matter said.

The process could kick off as soon as November, but the seller also could wait for further clarity around whether the market will continue to spiral or if it will rebound, two of the sources said. Pentair could also decide to retain the business, the people cautioned.

The businesses that Pentair is preparing to shop generate around $100 million to $120 million of Ebitda and sit within its industrial solutions unit, two of the sources said. The businesses coming to the block include the company’s industrial filtration unit as well as other assets, one of the sources added.

Sources suggested that the most logical acquirer of the business was private equity. The people noted, however, the persistent complexities in the financing market for large PE buyouts with banks largely unwilling to provide large syndicated loans after an effort to sell bonds underwritten for the $16.5 billion leveraged buyout of Citrix Systems Inc. cost the deal’s lender group $600 million.