UPDATE 1-Ratiopharm gets at least 10 bids -sources

* 10-plus bids include Teva, Sanofi, Permira, KKR, Advent

* Bids mostly in 2 to 2.5 bln euro range

(Adds background on Teva, Actavis, banks advising Ratiopharm)

By Philipp Halstrick and Quentin Webb

FRANKFURT/LONDON, Nov 11 (Reuters) - German generic drugmaker Ratiopharm has attracted at least 10 first-round bids, several people familiar with the procedure told Reuters on Wednesday, indicating a competitive auction was underway.

The strong initial interest comes despite intense price pressure in Germany -- where Ratiopharm makes half its sales -- and includes several bidders from the private equity industry, which struggled to do any deals of size during the depths of the financial crisis.

Bidders from the healthcare industry include Israel's Teva (TEVA.TA), Mylan (MYL.O) of the United States, Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA) of France, China's Sinopharm (1099.HK) and Actavis of Iceland, the sources said.

Buyout firms participating in the round of bids, which were non-binding, include TPG [TPG.UL], Advent in collaboration with Goldman Sachs (GS.N), Permira [PERM.UL] and KKR [KKR.UL].

One source said EQT had also filed a bid.

Bidders will be asked to confirm their non-binding offers in December and a smaller group will make binding offers in February, some of the sources said. Ratiopharm has said it aims to conclude a deal in the first quarter of 2010.

A spokesman for Ratiopharm, put up for sale to cut its owner's debt, declined to comment.

Teva, Actavis, Goldman Sachs and all private equity companies named by the sources also declined comment. Sanofi, Sinopharm and Mylan were not immediately available for comment.

Earlier this month, Teva President and Chief Executive Shlomo Yanai declined to comment on Ratiopharm but said Teva was "scrutinising the industry constantly looking for acquisitions" that would be accretive to its earnings in the first year. [ID:nL3501184]

It was not clear how Actavis -- whose own sale was halted earlier this year and which owes Deutsche Bank (DBKGn.DE) billions of euros -- would mount any potential bid.

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