PBM Capital Group announced the acquisition of Breas Medical AB from GE Healthcare, a subsidiary of General Electric Company.

PBM Capital will integrate Breas into Human Design Medical (HDM), an existing portfolio company. HDM is a lifestyle medical device company focusing on the treatment of sleep apnea. HDM launched the Z1™ CPAP machine, which has become the fastest-growing sleep apnea device in the world.

According to the NIH, untreated sleep apnea can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart failure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, and diabetes. Sleep apnea makes arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) more likely and increases the risk of having work related or driving accidents.

“We acquired Breas because it is a logical fit with our growing HDM sleep apnea business,” said PBM Capital Group CEO Paul B. Manning. “The Z1 CPAP machine has had an incredible launch here in the United States, and we have more innovative products in the pipeline. The Breas acquisition opens the door to global distribution channels and gives us immediate access to an established line of home care ventilators backed by a strong IP portfolio. We are very excited to merge these two great companies.”

“The Breas management team is excited with this transaction and looks forward to leveraging our core efficient operation developed by GE Healthcare, our strong customer relationships, and significant global breadth with an entrepreneurial owner that is focused on changing the respiratory industry,” said Nicke Svanvik, CEO of Breas.

The combined companies will continue to innovate by developing new products or acquiring additional respiratory product companies that will extend their reach into the global home respiratory products market.

Breas Medical AB was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1991, and acquired by GE Healthcare in 2008. The company manufactures home respiratory ventilators and sleep apnea products for the global home healthcare market.