BELGIUM - GIMV sells LA Gym to Waterland-owned healthcity

GIMV has been shareholder in LA Gym since 1999 with an interest of 81.3%. The remaining shares are held by CEO Rob Peys. The sale of its stake has a EUR 1.4m (EUR 0.06 per share) positive impact on GIMV's latest published equity value at 31 December 2005.

LA Gym was founded in 1992 and with four clubs in Antwerp and a fifth opening in spring 2007, has grown to be the leading chain of fitness clubs in Antwerp.

For HealthCity, with 30 fitness centra the largest fitness chain in the Netherlands, the takeover fits in with its strategy to gain a leading position on the Belgian fitness market. HealthCity has also recently started merger talks with Sportopolis Groep, the number two in the Belgian fitness market. The Belgian fitness market is considered to be relatively fragmented and the combination of HealthCity, LA Gym and Sportopolis is believed to offer considerable consolidation potential.

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• Topics
• Buyouts
• Benelux