Supported by mezzanine financing from associated company VR Equitypartner (Frankfurt / Germany; www.vrep.de), Tracoe medical (Nieder-Olm / Germany; www.tracoe.com) is to acquire Kapitex Healthcare (Wetherby / UK; www.kapitex.com), based in the north of England. Tracoe will take over its long-time customer as part of a succession arrangement. The parties agreed not to disclose details of the transaction.

Now in the third generation, Tracoe is a family-run company and a leading supplier of medical ventilation cannulas in the niche markets of "tracheostomy" (incision into the trachea or windpipe) and "laryngectomy" (removal of the larynx). The grandfather of the present managing partner Stephan Köhler had revolutionised the market in 1958 with the development of the first tracheal cannula made of PVC. In 1972, Tracoe was established by Köhler's father. Now, after consistent growth in the last few years, the company turns over some EUR 22m a year. With a production area of 4,400 m² (including clean rooms), a workforce of around 200, and 19 patents to its name, it has a constantly growing family of products, which are exported to 86 countries.

The British Kapitex company has been marketing the Tracoe cannulas in the UK exclusively for many years. Kapitex also markets its own products in the field of "airway management", an application which entails maintaining and safeguarding a patient’s breathing function, as well as various commodity products.