Martin Seibold, CEO of LifeFit Group, has confirmed to HCM that the acquisition of the company,announced in June, has been completed today (5 September).

LifeFit Group is now officially owned by a new parent, Light AcquiCo GmbH which is indirectly held by funds advised by Waterland Private Equity Investments.

The repayment of an existing Nordic Bond is scheduled for tomorrow.

Seibold said Waterland and LifeFit Group will now devote themselves to their joint growth strategy: "Our goal reaching 250+ clubs by 2028 remains and we could not have imagined having a better partner by our side," he confirmed.

"Waterland understands our business strategy and is supporting us in further developing LifeFit Group through expansion and strengthening our brands," said Seibold. "The acquisition also benefits our employees, opening up new perspectives and development opportunities."

Jörg Dreisow, supervisory board member at Waterland said: "We're convinced that with our expertise and financial resources, we'll be able to support LifeFit Group in its development and growth."

While working to bring the deal to completion, the team at LifeFit Group has also added 20 clubs to the portfolio this year so far, bringing the total to 143.

Seibold said there are plans to add more clubs via an M&A deal in November when the next LifeFit Group financial year commences.

He told HCM the company will also open a YogaSix studio in Frankfurt and an Elbgym in Munich later in 2024. It currently has five franchised Club Pilates clubs open under its agreement with Xponential Fitness.

The acquisition financing for the deal was delivered using various instruments, including senior secured bonds with a nominal amount of €140 million and super senior credit facilities in an aggregate amount of €20 million. Oldenburgische Landesbank acted as lead arranger and lender for this.

The bond, which was issued with Pareto Securities as sole bookrunner, was reportedly in strong demand from Scandinavian and international institutional investors and was oversubscribed, meaning the original target of €120 million was increased by €20 million.

The terms and conditions allow for further bond issues up to €300 million. The credit facilities agreement also includes the option to implement additional credit lines.

Waterland was advised on the acquisition financing by Hengeler Mueller.