Crunch Fitness Acquired by Marc Tascher and Angelo, Gordon & Co.

    NEW YORK, Jan. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Marc Tascher, a health club industry
 veteran, and the private equity group of Angelo, Gordon & Co. ("Angelo
 Gordon") today announced that they have successfully completed the acquisition
 of Crunch Fitness ("Crunch"), one of the premier health club chains in the
 U.S. and a leading brand in the fitness industry. Under the terms of the
 agreement, Tascher and Angelo Gordon have acquired all of the Crunch sites in
 New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Miami and San Francisco, as well as
 two Gorilla Sports Clubs and two Pinnacle Fitness clubs in San Francisco, from
 Bally Total Fitness (NYSE:   BFT) for $45 million. The new company will be
 called "Crunch Fitness" and all clubs will operate under the Crunch Fitness
 brand, beginning first quarter 2006.
     Mr. Tascher, co-founder and former Chairman and CEO of Town Sport
 International, Inc., has been named Chairman and CEO of Crunch Fitness. In
 addition to the 25 Crunch clubs, the new company will include seven additional
 health clubs owned and operated by Tascher's previous company, Sports and
 Fitness Ventures, LLC ("SFV"). These clubs, which will also be converted into
 the Crunch brand, include Ft. Greene, and Park Slope Sports Clubs in Brooklyn,
 New York; Hauppauge Sports Club on Long Island; West End Sports Club and Union
 Square Sports Club (opening in April 2006) in Manhattan; Rock Creek Sports
 Club in Silver Spring, Md.; and Thomas Circle Sports Club in Washington, DC.
     "Crunch is one of the best-known and most respected brands in the fitness
 industry and we are very excited to have an opportunity to build on the
 reputation for quality that has been established since Crunch opened its first
 fitness center in 1989," said Mr. Tascher. "I have been extremely impressed
 with the entire Crunch team who is the heart and soul of the company. I am
 enthusiastically looking forward to working with them to build upon Crunch's
 core strengths of providing members with creative programming and a unique and
 fun fitness experience."
     As part of the commitment to growth, Crunch Fitness has an aggressive plan
 for club conversions, which includes $15,000,000 million for new equipment,
 capital improvements, and increased marketing. In addition, there are plans to
 expand Crunch's presence by adding several new locations in the coming year."
     There are now a total of 32 Crunch Fitness locations across the U.S., with
 15 in New York, six in San Francisco, five in Chicago, two in Atlanta, two in
 D.C., one in Los Angeles and one in Miami. Crunch also has a number of
 high-profile partnerships and joint marketing relationships including Club
 Med, Nike, and Jet Blue that capitalize on its strong brand name and cache.
     Mr. Tascher partnered on this transaction with the private equity group of
 Angelo Gordon. Angelo Gordon was founded in 1988 and currently has over 50
 investment professionals managing approximately $9 billion in capital across
 multiple investment strategies. The private equity group currently manages
 over $800 million in existing and committed capital.
     "We believe Crunch is uniquely positioned for growth in its core urban
 markets as well as in new markets given its tremendous brand name recognition
 and loyal membership base," said Brent Leffel, a Director in the private
 equity group of Angelo Gordon. "We have earmarked a significant amount of
 capital to upgrade existing clubs and expand our footprint. We are excited
 about partnering with Marc and the entire Crunch team in unlocking the
 substantial value in the company."
     Peter F. Moore of Sagent Advisors Inc. initiated the partnership between
 Angelo Gordon and Marc Tascher on this transaction and acted as the exclusive
 financial advisor to Angelo Gordon.
 
 

SOURCE  Crunch Fitness