Fitness DK sold to SATS Group

PARKEN Sport & Entertainment has agreed to sell Fitness DK to the Nordic region's largest fitness provider, SATS Group, which is owned by the Altor Fund III and TryghedsGruppen.

Parken Sport & Entertainment wishes, with the sale of Fitness DK, to focus on further development of F.C. Copenhagen, Telia Parken, rental of office properties, Lalandia and the joint-owned E-sports company, North.

"For a long time, our strategic plan has been to strengthen Fitness DK's profile and position, so it would be attractive for an industrial partner to run Fitness DK with us, or take over the company," says Bo Rygaard, chairman of the board.

"It has been crucial that we found the right partner who has the prerequisites for running Fitness DK for the benefit of the company's members and employees. That has now been successful.

"The sale results in an accounting loss for PSE, but at the same time, the Group will be released from additional financial obligations in relation to Fitness DK. Overall, the sale thus strengthens the PSE Group, and we are now where we want to be: focusing on the further development of our core business in F.C. Copenhagen, Telia Parken, rental of office properties, Lalandia and our joint-owned E- sports company with Nordisk Film, North. All these activities have in them our DNA and anchoring in the entertainment industry."
 
The future owner, SATS Group, is the Nordic region's largest provider in the fitness industry, and runs and owns the fitness chains SATS, Fresh Fitness and HIYoga. Overall, SATS Group has more than 200 centres in the Nordic region with 560,000 members. With the acquisition of Fitness DK, they are also very prominent in Denmark.
 
"Fitness DK is a good match for SATS Group, which is already the Nordic region's largest indoor training centre," says CEO of SATS Group, Olav Thorstad.

"We aim at the quality segment, and it makes Fitness DK the right partner for us in Denmark. We have developed many exciting and good concepts in the other Nordic countries that we will implement and further develop in dialogue with our Danish customers.

"I'm sure we can add a new dimension of training and concepts to the Danish consumer."
 
The transaction is conditional upon approval by the competition authorities and is expected to be completed by the end of August 2018.