PRAIRIE LIFE FITNESS AND THE ATHLETIC CLUB
Bridgepoint Announces Sale of Prairie Life Fitness to The Athletic Club
June 30, 2019 – Omaha, NE – Principals of Bridgepoint Investment Banking (“Bridgepoint”) acted as the sole sell-side financial advisor to Prairie Life Fitness, LLC (“Prairie Life”) on their sale to The Athletic Club, partner of TruFit Athletic Clubs, which has 35 clubs throughout Colorado and Texas. Prairie Life is one of the Midwest’s leading operators of upscale health and fitness clubs. Prairie Life was founded in 1985 in Lincoln, NE and later expanded with an additional 8 locations in Omaha, NE; Des Moines, IA; Olathe, KS; Overland Park, KS; and Franklin, TN.
The real estate of six Prairie Life fitness clubs were sold to and financed in a sale-leaseback structure by a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that specializes in middle market real estate capital and net lease solutions.
Bridgepoint Managing Director Gary Grote commented, “We are proud to work with an iconic local company like Prairie Life Fitness. Our team ran a great process, utilizing a creative structure pairing a REIT and an industry-leading fitness operator to deliver a terrific outcome for the Prairie Life shareholders. It is a pleasure to help another Omaha business transition their legacy to a new partner.”
Dean Rasmussen, CEO of Prairie Life, stated “Bridgepoint showed great determination and perseverance with a disciplined process to ensure we got a great deal with the right partner. It was important for us to continue to provide a quality family-oriented fitness center to the communities we’ve served for over three decades.”
About Bridgepoint Investment Banking
Bridgepoint Investment Banking, a division of Bridgepoint Holdings, LLC, is a market-leading boutique investment bank. The Bridgepoint team, through their broker dealer relationship with M&A Securities Group, an unaffiliated entity, serves clients over their corporate lifecycles by providing capital raising and M&A advisory solutions. Bridgepoint serves clients globally across a range of focus sectors.
To learn more about Bridgepoint Investment Banking, please visit bridgepointib.com
About Prairie Life Fitness
Prairie Life operates nine health and fitness clubs in four states, Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Tennessee, with over 1,000 employees and approximately 42,000 members.