Planet Fitness makes second bid to buy out Blink Fitness chain in bankruptcy

Nov. 6 (UPI) - Planet Fitness is seeking to further grow its number of locations in a second bid for the Blink Fitness chain of workout facilities, according to new reports.

News of the renewed bid on Wednesday pushed PLNT stock up by more than 5% at one point in the day.

Blink Fitness is currently owned by New York-based Equinox Holdings Inc., which operates other clubs and brands in Britain, Canada and the United States.

In August, Blink filed for bankruptcy protection. On Wednesday, a bankruptcy court hearing in Delaware was held in order to consider the new bids, CNBC reported.

The Blink fitness center chain, once a former luxury chain, has been tied up in bankruptcy court for some time after a failed entrance into the U.S. budget fitness market.

Planet Fitness recently had lost its initial bid for Blink Holdings in bankruptcy auction against Britain-based PureGym, a privately held company, in part over antitrust concerns.

In its $121 million bid last week to expand in the U.S. market after initially entering in 2021, PureGym won the bankruptcy auction for Blink Fitness along with its assets and 60 of its New York and New Jersey gym locations.

However, two new proposals were submitted by Planet Fitness.

A $142 million offer for Blink assets would come with a more than $28 million deposit provided Planet Fitness would not be required in advance to address any ongoing antitrust concerns over the possibility it may control a large part of American fitness chains.

A second offer enlarged the dollar amounts to $155 million with an increased $31 million deposit that came with a caveat that included selected regulatory filings addressing concerns in advance about possible antitrust violations.

But the company, with more than 2,000 U.S. clubs at a roughly $6.8 billion valuation, has been making moves to expand its chain in recent years.