British fitness company PureGym will acquire most of the assets of bankrupt US gym operator Blink Fitness for $121 million, the two companies said on Thursday.
PureGym, which is backed by private equity firms Leonard Green & Partners and KKR, will take over Blink’s operations and 67 gyms in New York and New Jersey.
PureGym said the acquisition gives the company a strong foothold in the U.S., a market it only entered in 2021.
“The American fitness market is the largest and most dynamic in the world,” PureGym CEO Humphrey Cobbold said in a statement. “We are incredibly excited about the magnitude of the possibilities and the chance to adapt and apply our proven model there.”
Blink, an Equinox-owned chain of about 100 low-cost gyms, filed for bankruptcy in Delaware in August with debts of about $280 million. The company blamed its bankruptcy on the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced it to close operations for nine months and incur additional debt and deferred lease obligations, court documents show.
The company said Thursday that it is still evaluating offers for its remaining gyms in California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas.
The company will seek bankruptcy court approval for the sale at a hearing on Nov. 6.
Before Blink filed for bankruptcy, it marketed itself as an “all-encompassing and welcoming” place for anyone to get fit, with membership prices ranging from $15 to $45 per month.
Der Fall lautet In Re Blink Holdings Inc, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, Nr. 24-11686.
For Blink: Michael Nestor, Sean Greecher, Allison Mielke, Timothy Powell, Rebecca Lamb and Ben Carver of Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor
For PureGym: George Davis of Latham & Watkins; Norman Pernick and David Dean by Cole Schotz
Read more:
Blink Fitness files for bankruptcy and wants to sell
BowFlex files for bankruptcy with $37.5 million tender offer