On June 29, 2015, Nortek Security & Control LLC, a Nortek Inc. company, acquired mobile personal emergency response system (mPERS) and telehealth business assets from privately held Numera Inc.
Headquartered in Seattle, Numera creates mobile PERS products and cloud-based software platforms that enable providers and healthcare-related companies to create new safety and health monitoring services for their customers. These services extend beyond PERS to the healthy aging, chronic condition management and post-acute care markets. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acted as exclusive financial advisor to Numera.
Numera Libris, a mobile PERS solution, integrates safety and health monitoring capabilities in one wearable mobile device. Libris features instant hands-free communication, automated fall detection, location services and two-way voice communication, and it is designed to operate virtually anywhere.
“Acquiring this business is an important technology initiative for our Security & Control Solutions segment,” said Michael J. Clarke, Nortek president and CEO. “Combining Numera’s mobile PERS technologies with Nortek’s traditional PERS and on-premises security and home automation offerings will position us at the forefront of today’s aging-in-place technology trends. It also provides us with a point of entry and the opportunity to lead in an evolving, fast-growing market, as well as the potential to realize top-line synergies by cross selling between Nortek’s existing home security and PERS dealer networks and Numera’s impressive client base.”
“The markets for premises and personal security are converging, and our dealers are looking to suppliers to address this convergence,” said Michael O’Neal, president of Nortek Security & Control. “Nortek is firmly established as a leading supplier of traditional PERS solutions within the home, and Numera’s mobile platforms provide seniors and those with special needs with personal security whether at home or away. In addition, Numera’s health status monitoring capabilities target the rapidly emerging telehealth market, making the transaction an even more exciting opportunity for us.”
“Numera brings a customer base Nortek didn’t have,” said Duane Paulson, senior vice president of product and market development, Nortek. “I’ve talked with several customers since the acquisition, and the feedback has been universally positive. Not just our current customers, but also our perspective customers are as much if not more interested in the aging in place and health and wellness solutions as they are in home control and security solutions; we see those things converging. Numera brings a certain customer group to us as part of the deal that we as Nortek simply didn’t have before.”
“Numera was founded around patient management and telehealth related services, generally targeted at certain chronic diseases,” said Numera CEO Tim Smokoff. “About four years ago we got interested in the confluence of personal emergency safety response, which was largely private pay, integrated with telehealth related services as a means of helping seniors live healthier longer. What we were looking to do was create a solution — not just a device itself, but really a cloud-based offering that had applicability to family members and professional health workers for the engagement and interaction with those seniors. This marriage blending Numera’s health and wellness solution expertise with Nortek’s market-leading smart control offerings positions the company to take full advantage of this rapidly growing market opportunity.”
Paulson said having the some common customers is one of the synergies that make the two a good fit. “More people in the security industry want to offer these types of services as a way to increase RMR. Numera’s cloud-based solution is a good fit with Nortek’s finance and international reach.
Paulson said Nortek purchased certain assets from Numera, not a business. He added that Nortek will use the Numera brand as its flagship brand in health and wellness base.
“More and more security providers are looking to get into PERS,” said Smokoff. “Our goals are offering a broader portfolio applicable to a younger demographic and developing a network effect to family members to capture and retain that relationship longer.”
Visit www.nortekcontrol.com for information.
