Centre Partners Acquires Majority Stake in One World Fitness

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Mar 29, 2019, 11:11 ET

NEW YORK, March 29, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Centre Partners, a leading middle market private equity firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles, today announced that it has acquired a majority interest in New England Fitness and affiliates, now doing business as One World Fitness PFF, LLC ("One World Fitness" or the "Company"), a leading owner and operator of fitness clubs under the Planet Fitness banner. The Company's founder, Bill Fidler, and other key members of management invested alongside Centre. Financial terms were not disclosed.

New England Fitness was founded in 2006 to operate fitness clubs as a franchisee of Planet Fitness and has expanded its operations to include 18 fitness clubs primarily in the Philadelphia metropolitan and New Jersey markets. Planet Fitness, one of the largest and fastest-growing health club franchises in the country, is known for providing high-value, low-price fitness experiences in low-pressure, "Judgement Free®" environments.

"Centre is excited to partner with Bill Fidler to support the continued growth of the One World Fitness platform," said Bruce Pollack, a Managing Partner of Centre Partners. "Bill's passion and expertise in the business is evident in the rapid growth that has been achieved with a high quality group of facilities that are strategically well-positioned. We share a common vision for significantly expanding the scale of One World Fitness in both new and existing markets."

"Centre's long history of successfully collaborating with founders and entrepreneurs makes them an ideal partner for One World Fitness," said Mr. Fidler. "We believe Centre's financial support and industry expertise will accelerate growth and facilitate meaningful investments in our business while enabling us to maintain our focus on offering a high-quality, "Judgement Free®" experience for our existing members."

William Olson, a Centre Operating Partner, has joined the Company as Chief Executive Officer. "I am excited to join One World Fitness to drive operations and performance, continue to build a winning team and take the Company's growth to the next level," said Mr. Olson.

Mr. Pollack added, "Billy is a proven, experienced executive whose focus on growth and passion for team-building will be instrumental during the next phase of the Company's development." Mr. Fidler said, "We are excited to have Billy join One World Fitness and look forward to his contributions."

Marks & Klein LLP provided legal counsel to One World Fitness and Dechert LLP provided legal counsel to Centre.

About Centre Partners
Founded in 1986, Centre Partners is a leading middle-market private equity firm focusing on the consumer and healthcare sectors, with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Centre has invested over $2 billion of equity capital in more than 80 transactions since its inception. Centre seeks to partner with founders and management teams to build exceptional businesses. Centre Partners provides management teams access to its unique resources, which includes an extended network of experienced and proven operating executives. Additional information is available at www.centrepartners.com.

About One World Fitness
Headquartered in Windham, New Hampshire, One World Fitness is an owner and operator of Planet Fitness clubs with facilities in the Philadelphia metropolitan and New Jersey markets. One World Fitness manages 18 Planet Fitness facilities and has a proven track record of new club development, having opened three de novo facilities in each of the past three years. The Company's network of fitness clubs is supported by an administrative team based in New Hampshire, a regional management team and over 250 club employees.

About Planet Fitness
Founded in 1992 in Dover, NH, Planet Fitness is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the United States by number of members and locations. As of December 31, 2018, Planet Fitness had more than 12.5 million members and 1,742 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Panama and Mexico. The Company's mission is to enhance people's lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, which we call the Judgement Free Zone®. More than 95% of Planet Fitness stores are owned and operated by independent business men and women.