Gold’s Gym Sells In $100 Million Deal: What Does It Mean For The Fitness Chain?

Dallas-based Gold’s Gym has been acquired by German fitness group RSG Group GmbH out of bankruptcy in a $100 million deal.

RSG was the winning bidder for Gold’s Gym in a court-approved bankruptcy auction, giving the company nearly 1,000 gym locations across six continents.

“With the acquisition of Gold’s Gym, we are taking on a legacy that I have the utmost respect for,” Rainer Schaller, RSG Group’s founder and CEO, said in a statement. “Our goal is to focus on the core values of Gold’s Gym and find the right balance between preserving its roots and moving the brand forward.”

Gold’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May after the coronavirus closed all of its 61 company-owned gyms and more than 600 franchise-owned locations. The company has had 3 million members over the course of 50 years.

The fitness chain sought bankruptcy as an option to restructure its debt, announcing at the time that it was looking for a buyer.

Gold’s Gym said it expected to emerge from bankruptcy quickly as it worked through an agreement with its majority holder TRT Holdings.

At the bankruptcy auction, RSG beat out TRT Holdings’ offer of $80 million to purchase the gym chain out of bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reported.

RSG has over 2 million customers and more than 5,000 employees. The company has over 300 locations spread across 48 countries under the McFIT, John Reed, John & Jane’s, and High5 brand.

Schaller said Gold’s Gym was his inspiration when he opened his first McFit fitness studio back in 1997 in Würzburg, Germany. The iconic Gold’s Gym brand started in Venice, California, in 1965 by Joe Gold.

“I am incredibly proud that, in partnership with their current leadership team, we will be able to breathe new life into this iconic brand under the umbrella of the RSG Group,” Schaller said.