The investment firm that bought Burt's Bees four years ago reportedly is ready to cash out its stake in the maker of natural soaps, lotions and other personal-care products.

TheDeal.com reported Tuesday that AEA Investors has retained investment bank Goldman Sachs to sell Morrisville-based Burt's Bees. The report, which cited unidentified sources, said the sale price could go as high as $1 billion.

Fetching that much money for Burt's Bees would be hugely profitable for AEA, which paid $177 million for 80 percent of the business. Co-founder Roxanne Quimby, who built Burt's Bees from a roadside stand into a national brand, retained a 20 percent interest but departed from the company following the sale.

Burt's Bees, which has 300 employees, makes a wide range of personal-care products that boast natural ingredients and -- sometimes -- exotic names such as Very Volumizing Pomegranate & Soy Shampoo and Peach and Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub.

Under AEA's ownership, the company has tried to boost sales by broadening its appeal beyond the Birkenstock-and-granola crowd that bought its products at natural grocery stores such as Whole Foods. That strategy has included getting its products on the shelves at Target, Walgreen's and Kroger stores.

Burt's Bee's referred questions to executives at AEA, who could not be reached for comment.

Quimby also couldn't be reached. Last year, Quimby started Happy Green Bee, a Garner company that sells children's clothing made from organic cotton.

A spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs declined to comment.

Goldman Sachs recently started to accept bids for Burt's Bees, according to TheDeal. com.

Potential buyers could include the French cosmetic firm L'Oreal Group, TheDeal.com reported. L'Oreal last year paid $1.1 billion for Body Shop International, which has its U.S. headquarters in Wake Forest.

In 2003, TheDeal.com broke the news that AEA, a New York private equity firm, had agreed to buy Burt's Bees. Private equity firms invariably seek to recoup their investment by selling a company or taking it public.