Planet Fitness to Buy Franchisee Sunshine Fitness for $800 Million
A Planet Fitness staffer in Inglewood, Calif., preparing for reopening last year after being closed for the Covid-19 pandemic.
Photo:
Ringo Chiu/Zuma Press
Planet Fitness Inc.
on Tuesday said it agreed to buy Sunshine Fitness Growth Holdings LLC, one of its top franchisees, for $800 million in cash and stock.
Planet Fitness said Sunshine Fitness, the first franchisee in its system, operates 114 locations in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
Planet Fitness, a Hampton, N.H., operator and franchiser of fitness centers, ended 2021 with 2,254 locations world-wide. The company said it would own about 10% of its store base upon completion of the transaction, expected during the first quarter.
Planet Fitness said it plans to fund the $425 million cash portion of the purchase price with cash on hand and proceeds from a new series of securitized notes.
TSG Consumer Partners, one of the oldest private-equity firms focused on investing in consumer-products companies, acquired a majority stake in Sunshine Fitness in 2017. The San Francisco firm previously bought a majority stake in Planet Fitness in 2012 but had fully exited its investment as of May 2017.
Write to Colin Kellaher at colin.kellaher@wsj.com
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