Providence Equity Partners has reached an agreement to acquire Fitness Park Group from its selling shareholders, including founder Philippe Herbette, Future French Champions, Momentum Invest, and M Capital Partners, provequity.com reported. The transaction positions the private equity firm to back the European fitness brand through its next phase of expansion.
Founded in 2009, Fitness Park serves more than 1.7 million members across a network of over 467 clubs. France remains the group’s primary market, supporting a workforce of roughly 2,400 employees. Beyond French borders, the brand has scaled internationally via master franchise agreements into Spain, Portugal, Morocco, and Italy, with upcoming openings scheduled for Belgium.
Providence Aims to Build Scale in European Fitness
Under the new ownership structure, Providence will work alongside Chairman Philippe Herbette and management led by Gaëtan Dubuisson. The partnership aims to inject capital into the network’s customer offerings, product development, and physical footprint.
Robert Sudo, Senior Managing Director at Providence, pointed to the brand’s solid positioning in a growing sector. “We know the European fitness sector well and see significant opportunity to continue building scale in a market we believe is benefiting from strong structural growth,” Sudo said.
“We also want to assure franchisees that we remain committed to retaining and accelerating the growth of the Fitness Park brand across the various markets and we look forward to partnering with Philippe, Gaëtan and the wider team for the next phase of the company’s development.”
The company operates over 500,000 square meters of training space through corporate and franchised locations. Recognized as the number one fitness franchisor in Europe, the group also secured the Franchise of the Year 2026 title in the Sport-Bodybuilding category following a study conducted by Qualimétrie for Gabaon.
Backing Through COVID and Beyond
Future French Champions—a partnership between the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar and French national investment bank Bpifrance—supported Fitness Park through past economic disruptions. Antoine Emmanuelli, President of Future French Champions, noted that the backing helped the company survive the COVID-19 period before accelerating its organic and international development.
Founder Philippe Herbette emphasized the brand’s original mission. “Since founding Fitness Park, our ambition has always been to offer the best fitness experience at the best price to as many people as possible,” Herbette said. “It has been an incredible journey to get to this point, and we are very well positioned for further success as we continue to expand across a wide number of markets.”
Regulatory Hurdles and Advisory Roles
The transaction remains subject to customary regulatory approvals before closing. Financial and legal advisory teams were active on both sides of the deal. Houlihan Lokey advised Providence as financial adviser, alongside White & Case for legal counsel, McKinsey for commercial due diligence, and Deloitte for finance and tax due diligence.
Meanwhile, the selling shareholders relied on J.P. Morgan as sole financial adviser. Legal support for the sellers came from Mayer Brown, Volt Associés, and Jeausserand Associés, while 8A handled financial due diligence, EY managed tax, legal, and social due diligence, and OC&C advised on commercial due diligence.
Providence, established in Rhode Island in 1989, has deployed more than $40 billion across upwards of 180 portfolio companies. The firm focuses on middle-market investments in media, communications, and education.
