RETAIL/LEISURE : Management, With Merchant Bank, Buys Life Fitness Back From Bally
The management of Life Fitness, the Irvine company that developed the Lifecycle and other self-powered exercise machines,
has bought the company back from Bally Manufacturing Corp. for $62.5 million.
The management team, led by Chief Executive Officer Augie Nieto, closed the deal earlier this month in partnership with Mancuso & Co., a New York merchant bank. Mancuso put up 45% of the purchase price and gave new debt securities--a fancy corporate way of saying IOUs--to Bally for the remainder.
Founded in 1977, Life Fitness has become the world’s largest manufacturer of computerized fitness equipment. Its products include the Lifecycle exercise bike and machines for step-climbing and rowings. Life Fitness sells its products in more than 60 countries.
Chicago-based Bally, burdened by a heavy debt load, announced last November that it was putting Life Fitness and other properties up for sale to concentrate on its casino and gaming operations.
“Not only does Life Fitness have a strong position in the commercial market by virtue of its technological superiority, but it is also the only manufacturer of a full line of computerized fitness equipment with a global presence,” said Robert F. Mancuso, managing general partner of Mancuso & Co.
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