New York, NY, July 3, 2019 – Churchill Asset Management (“Churchill”) today announced that it served as Sole Lead Arranger for a $155 million senior secured credit facility to support the acquisition of Impact Fitness North America, LP (“Impact Fitness”) by investment funds managed by Morgan Stanley Capital Partners.
Founded in 2006, Impact Fitness is a leading franchisor and operator of 29 Planet Fitness clubs in the Michigan, Northern Indiana, Western Ontario and British Columbia markets. Planet Fitness, one of the largest gym concepts in the U.S. with over 12 million members, prides itself on providing a high-quality experience at an exceptional value in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment.
“Impact Fitness is a proven operator with an impressive track record of new club development. With a highly effective team and sophisticated marketing approach, we believe the company is well-positioned for accelerated growth,” said Randy Schwimmer, Senior Managing Director and Head of Origination & Capital Markets at Churchill. “We look forward to working with the team at Morgan Stanley Capital Partners and company management to help them achieve their growth objectives.”
The financing represents the sixth transaction that the Churchill platform has completed in support of Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners is the middle market private equity team within Morgan Stanley Investment Management focused on privately negotiated equity and equity-related investments in North American companies, spanning the business services, consumer, healthcare and industrials industries.
“We selected Churchill to underwrite and lead this transaction due to their ability to structure a financing solution customized to our needs, combined with their relevant experience with Planet Fitness franchisees,” said Aaron Sack, Head of Morgan Stanley Capital Partners. “We look forward to working with the team throughout the life of the loan.”
About Churchill Asset Management
Based in New York, Churchill Asset Management LLC is a leading provider of senior and unitranche debt financing for middle market companies, particularly those backed by top-tier private equity sponsors. Churchill has $6.5 billion of committed capital under management and has broad experience in all aspects of the middle market financing business, including structuring, credit analysis, syndication, and deal monitoring and oversight. More information can be found at www.churchillam.com.
About Morgan Stanley Capital Partners
Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, the middle-market focused private equity business of Morgan Stanley Investment Management, is a leading middle-market private equity platform that has invested capital in a broad spectrum of industries for over two decades. Morgan Stanley Capital Partners focuses on privately negotiated equity and equity-related investments in North America and seeks to create value in portfolio companies primarily through operational improvement. For further information about Morgan Stanley Capital Partners, please visit www.morganstanley.com.
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