Arjo announced the acquisition of AirPal. The deal will strengthen Arjo’s Patient Handling portfolio and is expected to have a positive impact on earnings per share from 2022 and onwards.
Lateral transfers and repositioning are the most commonly cited patient handling tasks reported in healthcare, and when performed manually, jeopardizes both staff and patient health. Using an air-assisted system, such as AirPal, provides a more effective solution to mitigate the physical efforts and injury risks associated with performing lateral transfers, in addition enabling reduced caregiver injuries and healthcare costs.
AirPal is the inventors 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.
The US market size for Air Assisted lateral transfers is estimated at approximately 160 MUSD, with an estimated annual growth of five percent. Currently Arjo has a significant US patient handling market share of approximately 20-25 percent, 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 two to three 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 US 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.
