Planet Fitness Loses Bid to Acquire Blink Fitness in Bankruptcy Court
In a recent turn of events, Planet Fitness lost its bid in bankruptcy court to acquire budget fitness chain Blink Holdings, according to court filings viewed by CNBC. This news comes after Planet Fitness placed competing eleventh-hour bids during a 48-hour challenge window earlier this month. The two higher bids came after it initially lost out in a bankruptcy auction to U.K.-based fitness chain PureGym.
Late Tuesday, Delaware’s bankruptcy court formally accepted PureGym’s $121 million offer, which had initially won at auction in late October. J. Kate Stickles, a bankruptcy judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of Delaware, stated in Tuesday’s hearing that PureGym’s offer would avoid antitrust risks. PureGym, a company that operates three locations in the U.S. since 2021, also committed to assuming Blink’s liabilities and maintaining 60 of Blink’s fitness centers currently operating in New York and New Jersey.
PureGym CEO, Humphrey Cobbold, expressed the company’s commitment to ensuring continuity of service for Blink’s members in New York and New Jersey, stating, “The American fitness market is the largest and most dynamic in the world. We are incredibly excited by the scale of opportunity and the chance to tailor and apply our proven model there.”
Planet Fitness’ initial bid was rejected partly due to antitrust concerns, as the company already owns over 2,000 clubs in the U.S., making it a roughly $6.8 billion entity. By accepting PureGym’s offer and avoiding antitrust issues, the court’s decision allows Blink to continue its operations instead of facing dissolution as negotiations were held in court.
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