Resource Partners could not be reached for comment by press time, while Mid Europa Partners declined to comment.
WorldClass Romania is the largest network of fitness centers in the country, with EUR27 million revenue in 2018 and expectations of EUR33 million to EUR35 million revenue this year, its officials said. The network operates more than 30 fitness centers in Bucharest and the major cities of the country.
The company is valued at about EUR100 million, a price justified by WorldClass being the undisputed leader on its market. Moreover, there is growth potential for this business, considering the number of Romanians who choose to exercise is on the rise.
Resource Partners bought WorldClass in 2014. The firm does not own any other business in this country. Usually a private equity investor keeps a company for four or five years to develop it and then sells it.
Mid Europa Partners has been one of the most active investors in Romania in the last few years. It arrived in 2015 when it bought private healthcare network Regina Maria and then retailer Profi, in the largest deal ever closed by a private equity firm in Romania, paying more than EUR500 million. Its latest acquisition is parcel delivery company Urgent Cargus from another private equity firm, Abris Capital.
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)