09/02/2023 – 20:19
The sovereign wealth fund of Abu Dhabi Mubadala will become the controller of the Bluefit gym network, in an operation valued at BRL 464.1 million. In a statement released this Saturday, the 2nd, Bluefit informed that the fund will buy shares from the current partners, and will also make a direct contribution to the company through the issuance of new shares by the network.
This Saturday, the company’s shareholders signed an agreement with MC Brazil Fitness Holding, a Mubadala vehicle. Under the agreement, MC will pay R$114.1 million to purchase shares from current holders. Additionally, it will invest more R$ 350 million in Bluefit, to subscribe new shares that the company will issue.
In all, MC will hold 51% of the total and voting share capital of the gym network. In practice, it will have control of the business, if the operation is approved by authorities such as the Administrative Council for Economic Defense (Cade).
Bluefit also informed that, at the closing of the operation, a shareholders’ agreement will be signed, to govern the relationship between MC and the other shareholders. The company’s largest shareholder is currently Leste Private Equity FIP – Multiestratégia IE, with 32.55% of the capital.
One of the largest gym chains in the country, Bluefit had 133 units in operation in June, the date of the most recent data. In the previous 12 months, it opened 20 new units, including its own gyms and franchises. At the end of the second quarter, Bluefit had 338,400 students.
The company even tried an initial public offering of shares (IPO, its acronym in English) on B3 in 2021, but withdrew plans with the worsening market. At the time, the company planned to raise BRL 600 million from investors, according to sources involved in the operation.
In the first half, Bluefit had a net loss of BRL 1.050 million, an improvement over the loss of BRL 3.182 million seen in the same period of 2022. The company had a 54% growth in revenue, to BRL 148.4 million, with the recovery of the gym market after the covid-19 pandemic and the increase in the student base.
On the other hand, the network’s net debt increased 21.6% in one year, to R$ 86.7 million. In the balance sheet, Bluefit stated that the increase in debt came from the incorporation of Shift Fitness units, and the issuance of debentures carried out in August last year.
Bluefit’s main competitor, Smartfit, is listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange. Two sovereign funds are in its shareholder base: CPPIB, from Canada, and GIC, from Singapore. The controllers, however, are the Corona family and the Pátria fund, with 47.6% of the capital.
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