Core Health & Fitness LLC (Core), a portfolio company of U.S.-based private equity firm Gainline Capital Partners LP (Gainline), announced that it has acquired Wexer Holding LLC (Wexer), a leader in digital health and fitness offerings. Financial terms of the transaction are private.
The deal will provide Wexer with the funding to scale its business — including through significant acquisitions to consolidate the digital fitness sector — and drive digital adoption across the global health club sector.
“Coming out of COVID-19, commercial customers across gym and vertical market categories are placing an increased emphasis on connected fitness,” said Jason Leone, the president of Core. “Though many consumers are returning to in-person workouts, they expect to continue to complement these with connected fitness workouts, highlighting the importance of delivering an omnichannel experience.”
“This is a momentous step for Wexer, simultaneously granting us the support, investment and distribution we need to dramatically scale our business and accelerate towards our mission of hybridising the fitness industry,” said Paul Bowman, the CEO of Wexer. “The opportunity to work closely with Core Health & Fitness, collaborating across its portfolio of globally recognised brands to build an even more diverse digital ecosystem, is another huge benefit of this acquisition. We are delighted with our new ownership and excited by its implications not only for Wexer, but for the sector as a whole.”
Rick Sullivan, a partner at Gainline, added, “As a leading B2B supplier for the global health and fitness market, we see Wexer as a natural extension of Core’s business model.”
The collaboration will begin with a global roadshow designed to educate and inspire the fitness sector around the need to embrace omnichannel fitness. Exploring the powerful impact that a digital offering has on health club membership sales, up-sales and member retention, the roadshow will support operators with insights not only into why but also how to make the business-critical shift to a sustainable hybrid model.
