December 3, 2020 – Arjo announced it has acquired AirPal, a privately owned U.S.-based company specializing in Air-Assisted Lateral Patient Transfer solutions.
Arjo says the deal will strengthen its Patient Handling portfolio and is expected to have a positive impact on earnings per share from 2022 and onwards.
AirPal is the inventor of and received the first patent for Air Assisted Lateral Patient Transfer Devices and specializes in these devices that uses a cushion of air to facilitate lateral movement of patients that aims to minimize the risk of injury to both patients and caregivers. AirPal’s technology releases low-pressure air through perforated chambers in its TransferPad, which is placed under the patient in the same manner as a bed sheet.
Currently Arjo has a significant U.S. patient handling market share of approx. 20-25% not including lateral transfers where Arjo is underrepresented with a low single digit market share. By acquiring AirPal and leveraging the Arjo sales infrastructure, existing customer contacts and contracts, Arjo sees opportunities to gain significant market share within 2-3 years and, over time, reach a market share similar to the level in the overall patient handling business.
The acquisition is part of the group’s long-term strategic focus towards driving healthier outcomes for people facing mobility challenges, and will help advance Arjo’s agenda towards increased profitable growth. The initial focus is on the U.S. market, followed by UK and Australia.
The deal is an asset purchase agreement and involves an upfront payment and an earn-out tied to performance in 2021 to 2023. The acquisition is expected to have a limited positive impact on Arjo’s EPS during 2021 but will contribute positively to EPS development in 2022 and increasingly so onwards as sales synergies materialize.