Planet Fitness submits last minute bid to acquire UK fitness chain

A group of unsecured creditors pushed to derail nan waste of bankrupt gym concatenation Blink to a UK institution aft it won an auction complete Planet Fitness, The Post has learned.

Planet Fitness — nan largest gym concatenation successful nan US pinch much than 2,000 locations — had made an 11th-hour bid to get Blink, which past week accepted a little connection from UK-based Pure Gym, sources exclusively told The Post.

Planet Fitness has made an eleventh-hour bid to get affordable gym concatenation Blink, sources exclusively told The Post. Christopher Sadowski

Pure Gym — which opened its first 3 gyms successful nan US successful 2022 — past week submitted a $121 cardinal winning bid to triumph nan auction for Blink arsenic nan UK institution seeks to expand. The institution intends to unfastened arsenic galore arsenic 300 gyms successful nan US complete nan adjacent 5 years, according to an April property release.

But connected Friday, successful nan closing hr of nan deal’s 48-hour situation period, Planet Fitness submitted 2 larger competing bids: $141 cardinal if nary premerger regulatory filings were required, and $153 cardinal if Planet Fitness had to taxable nan paperwork.

Blink’s debtors made a filing Monday nighttime successful support of Pure Gym’s first offer, saying nan waste process “culminated successful nan highest and champion bid pinch a well-financed strategical buyer,” a root adjacent to nan process said.

The proposals will beryllium considered successful Delaware bankruptcy tribunal connected Wednesday.

Planet Fitness did not instantly respond to a petition for comment.

Blink, which owns affordable gyms successful states including New York and New Jersey, revenge for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections successful August. Boston Globe via Getty Images

Planet Fitness first made a bid connected Oct. 23 to get Blink and its astir 60 locations aft nan institution filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections successful August, a root adjacent to nan matter told The Post.

The connection was discarded by nan debtor and nan finance slope overseeing nan auction complete concerns that nan acquisition would look lengthy antitrust challenges that could forestall Blink from emerging from bankruptcy since nan institution is moving connected conscionable 30 days of cash, nan root said.

Blink was founded successful New York City successful 2011. The low-price gym concatenation charges betwixt $15 and $40 a period for memberships, according to its website. Blink is owned by Equinox, a luxury fittingness nine whose upscale gyms complaint upwards of $500 a period for its memberships.

Blink’s prices roseate to betwixt $22 and $45 a period astatine NYC locations pursuing immoderate value hikes complete nan past fewer years. The institution besides owns locations successful New Jersey, Pennsylvania, California, Illinois, Massachusetts and Texas.

But for illustration galore others, Blink fell unfortunate to nan pandemic-era gym drought that popularized free at-home fittingness videos. Gyms person yet to spot these consumers, who person been deed difficult by sticky inflation, return successful afloat swing.

Soon aft nan institution revenge for bankruptcy, it announced it would beryllium closing astir 10% of its gyms. Blink has continued operations astatine its remaining gyms passim nan waste process.