Nord Holding's Jumpers Group buys Ai Fitness; forms BestFit

The acquisition has been financed using part of a debt package totalling more than €100m from a debt fund, according to a statement. The financing package includes add-on facilities. Nord Holding has also contributed additional equity to back the deal.

Stephan Schulan, managing director and founder of Jumpers Group, has been appointed as managing director of BestFit. Marius Neugebauer, founder of Ai Fitness, will take a role on BestFit's advisory board and will hold a minority stake in the business.

Nord Holding acquired a 65% stake in Jumpers Group in August 2013, with the company's management owning a 20% stake.

Jumpers Group had 10 clubs serving 20,000 members at the time of Nord Holding's investment in 2013; it now has 36 sites and 90,000 members, having acquired seven fitness studios and opened a further 19 under its own name.

With the addition of Ai Fitness, BestFit now has 64 sites and 210,000 members, with 1,000 staff.

BestFit now aims to make further add-on acquisitions to expand its national presence within Germany. It aims to have 100 clubs by 2023, according to a statement. The company intends to make 3-10 further add-ons to achieve this goal, targeting businesses with EBITDA of €500,000-4m each.

Nord Holding is currently following a buy-and-build strategy for a number of portfolio companies, including hearing clinic chain AudiOsono, as reported.

Company
Founded in 2003, Ai Fitness is gym chain headquartered in Bielefeld, with 120,000 members and 28 fitness studios in North Rhine Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The business offers a range of all-inclusive memberships and subscriptions, including personal training and classes. The company employs 600 people.

People
Nord Holding – Rainer Effinger (managing director); Maximilian Frey, Christoph Grunewald (investment managers).
BestFit – Stephan Schulan (managing director).
Ai Fitness – Marius Neugebauer (founder).

Advisers
Equity – Allen & Overy (legal); EY (tax); Herter & Co (debt advisory).
Vendor – Edelhelfer (M&A).

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• Topics
• Expansion
• DACH
• Consumer
• Build-up
• Acquisition finance
• Germany
• Nord Holding