Mark Wahlberg-backed fitness chain F45 targets over $1.5B value in IPO

Mark Wahlberg-backed fitness chain F45 Training Holdings is eyeing a valuation of more than $1.5 billion in an initial public offering, months after terminating its merger with a blank-check company.

The Austin, Texas-based company was founded in 2013 in Australia and now has more than 1,500 studios, with about 2,800 franchises in 63 countries.

F45 said on Wednesday it was aiming to sell about 20.3 million shares priced between $15 and $17 apiece to raise up to $345 million. About 1.6 million shares in the IPO are being offered by the selling stockholder, the proceeds of which would not go to the company.

F45 agreed in June last year to merge with Crescent Acquisition, a special purpose acquisition company, but later canceled the deal as the COVID-19 pandemic shut several of its studios.

It posted an 11 percent drop in revenue for the year ended Dec. 31, 2020, with its net loss widening to $25.3 million from a loss of $12.6 million a year earlier.

About 86 percent of the company’s total studios were open as of March 31, according to its filing.

A man lifts a weight on the floor of F45 Training studio
Marines commander Col. Charles B. Dockery lifts weights at the grand opening of an F45 Training studio at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in San Diego in June. F45, which saw many of its studios shut during the pandemic, said about 86 percent of its studios were open as of March 31.
Getty Images for F45 Training

The company is seeking to list on the New York Stock Exchange and will trade under the ticker symbol “FXLV.”

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are the lead underwriters for the offering.

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