From sleep apnea to asthma, respiratory care encompasses a wide range of chronic diseases and conditions that have grown in prevalence in recent years.
Respiratory care is a specialized healthcare field that focuses on the treatment, management and prevention of respiratory disorders.
A shift toward lower cost settings like home-based care, increased access to remote monitoring, as well as fragmentation among manufacturers, distributors and medical providers have created new opportunities for private equity to invest in the sector. This includes investments within medical device, product and pharmaceutical developers.
Starting from the most recent, PE Hub rounded up five respiratory care deals going back to the beginning of the year. (We have noted the headquarters location for all targets.)
1. Kensington-backed Resolve buys seven Canadian sleep health businesses
In August, Resolve Sleep Health, a sleep healthcare products and services provider backed by Kensington Capital Partners, announced that it acquired seven sleep health businesses.
The add-ons include Aveiro Sleep, CanSleep, Parkland CPAP Services, SleepMedix, Chinook Respiratory Care, FreshAir Respiratory Care and Breathe Well.
Greater awareness about sleep care is creating a broader market of add-on and organic growth opportunities for private equity platform investments like Resolve, Tom Kennedy, partner at Kensington, told PE Hub.
Based in Bedford, Nova Scotia, Resolve operates over 120 clinics in all of Canada’s provinces except Manitoba, and provides products, medical devices and services that help with sleep-related respiratory health challenges, such as sleep apnea.
Kensington is based in Toronto and acquired Resolve in 2022. BDC Growth Equity Partners, an affiliate of BDC Capital, and Horizon Capital Holdings also co-invested in the company the same year.
2. Sanofi acquires Goldman Sachs Alternatives-backed Vicebio for $1.6 billion
AI-powered biopharma company Sanofi announced in July the acquisition of Vicebio, a respiratory virus vaccine developer, from Goldman Sachs Alternatives and other PE and VC investors, for $1.6 billion.
The deal includes an up-front payment of $1.15 billion and development and regulatory milestone payments of $450 million, according to a press release.
Based in London, Vicebio develops vaccines using proprietary Molecular Clamp technology, which can be used for a wide range of diseases, including respiratory syncytial virus, human metapneumovirus, parainfluenza viruses, influenza and coronaviruses.
Sanofi is a publicly traded company based in Paris and focused on research and development for medicines and vaccines.
Goldman Sachs Alternatives is based in New York and invested in the company’s $100 million Series B financing round in September 2024, via its Life Sciences investing group.
3. CVC Capital Partners to exit Italy’s Genetic
In May, CVC Capital Partners announced an agreement to sell its entire stake in Genetic, a pharmaceutical and medical device contract development and manufacturing organization, to Renaissance Partners and Aurora Growth Capital.
The deal is a 50-50 partnership between the private equity firms and the Pavese family.
Based in Fisciano, Italy, Genetic focuses on the research, development, manufacturing, licensing and promotion of pharmaceutical specialties and products, primarily around the development of respiratory and ophthalmology products such as pressurized metered-dose inhalers.
The company was valued at approximately €680 million, representing over 13x EV/EBITDA in 2024, according to sources close to the matter. It also reached revenues of around €120 million, entirely driven by organic growth, and EBITDA of around €50 million in 2024.
CVC invested in Genetic in 2020 and expanded it from around 20 countries to over 40 and more than doubled its revenue.
“With our expertise in the pharmaceutical sector, we look forward to supporting the company’s growth, including its expansion into new markets and the development of its pipeline of high-impact molecules,” said Luca Deantoni and Giovanni Camisassi, partners at Renaissance, in a statement.
4. IK-backed Plastiflex acquires Smooth-Bor
Plastiflex Group, which is backed by IK Partners, announced in March the acquisition of Smooth-Bor Plastics, a producer of corrugated heated tubes for continuous positive airway pressure devices and other tubing systems and masks for respiratory care, especially sleep apnea.
Smooth-Bor is based in Laguna Hills, California, and strengthens Plastiflex’s market position in tubing systems for the respiratory care market.
Plastiflex, which is based in Beringen, Belgium, is a supplier of components and customized tubing systems for customers in the medical and industrial technology sectors.
IK Partners invested in Plastiflex in 2021. The firm helped it to complete four add-ons and expects it to generate around €200 million in sales and roughly €50 million in EBITDA in 2025.
5. Aksìa exits Rome-based MIR
In January, Aksìa announced the completion of the sale of MIR, a portable respiratory device provider, to Quadrivio’s Silver Economy Fund and a consortium of other investors.
Founded in Rome, MIR provides medical devices for early diagnosis and monitoring of respiratory diseases, including pulse oximeters, spirometers and single-use respiratory turbines. It also designs software for real-time monitoring of key vital signs.
The company has three direct subsidiaries in North America, France and Brazil. Aksìa acquired MIR in 2021, and its sale is the first exit for the Aksìa Capital V fund.
From 2021 to 2025, MIR grew from €11 million to over €22 million at an annual rate of 20 percent via its expansion in Italy and abroad; the acquisition of distributors in France and Brazil; a new marketing strategy; the introduction of a subscription-based business model; and the launch of new telemedicine and homecare products.
Quadrivio’s Silver Economy Fund is based in Milan with its parent company, Quadrivio Group.
PE Hub expects more respiratory care deals in the coming months.
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