BC Partners launches sale of German lab group Synlab - sources

FRANKFURT, April 21 (Reuters) - Buyout group BC Partners has launched the sale of German laboratory operator Synlab in a potential 1.5 billion euro ($1.61 billion) deal, three people familiar with the transaction said.

The investor has asked potential bidders - mostly other buyout groups - to hand in tentative offers by a May 7 deadline, one of the people said.

Synlab is expecting to post earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) of about 145 million euros this year and BC Partners is hoping to fetch a valuation of 11-12 times that, the sources said.

($1 = 0.9297 euros) (Reporting by Arno Schuetze and Alexander Hübner)