Argonne Capital Group, LLC today announced that its portfolio company, National Fitness Partners, entered into a definitive agreement to acquire 12 Planet Fitness clubs operating in the Triad North Carolina area (Winston-Salem, Greensboro, High Point) from GNT Triad, LLC. The transaction is expected to close within the next thirty days. This acquisition continues to add to the footprint of the Company, which will now operate 71 clubs in Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina and South Carolina. NFP's headquarters is in Camp Hill, PA, but the Company also maintains an office in Charlotte which will support the newly acquired clubs.
Founded in 1992 in Dover, N.H., 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. Planet Fitness has more than 14 million members and more than 1,800 stores in 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, Panama and the Dominican Republic. 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®.
"We have known Gerald Kennedy and the GNT team for many years and have always been impressed with the quality of their clubs, their operations and their growing markets," said Stephen Kindler, President & CEO of National Fitness Partners. "With these newly acquired clubs and the continued support of Argonne, we look forward to further expanding the Planet Fitness brand in North Carolina and the markets in which we operate."
"After 7 years of hard work building out the Triad market, the entire GNT team and I could not be more thrilled with the outcome of this transaction," said Gerald Kennedy, Founder and President of GNT Holdings. "We believe that National Fitness Partners is going to provide the perfect home for our 12 Triad area clubs and their loyal employees and members."
King & Spalding, McGuireWoods LLP, Gray Plant Mooty and Ernst & Young advised Argonne Capital Group. Bishop, Dulaney, Joyner & Abner advised GNT Holdings. Fifth Third Bank provided financing for the transaction.
About Argonne Capital Group
Founded in 2003, Argonne Capital Group is a closely held private investment firm that seeks to make equity investments in a diverse range of middle market enterprises, including those in the multi-unit restaurant, retail and service industries. Argonne also has a significant presence in multi-tenant retail real estate through its RCG Ventures platform. Argonne has invested over $850 million of equity capital since inception.
For more information, please visit www.argonnecapital.com
About National Fitness Partners
Founded in 2016 to acquire 10 Planet Fitness locations from the Kindler family in Central PA, National Fitness Partners (NFP) is one of the largest franchisees within the Planet Fitness system and the 2019 Planet Fitness "Operator of the Year". Headquartered in Camp Hill, PA, NFP employs over 1,000 employees and operates 71 Planet Fitness locations in Central, PA; Philadelphia, PA; southern Delaware, greater Charlotte, NC and the Triad, NC.
