The parent company of fitness brands Booker, ClassPass, and Mindbody has finalised its merger with smart gym equipment firm EGYM, creating a combined company valued at $7.5 billion. The deal, first announced in January, was completed on Tuesday, uniting consumer apps, business software, and smart hardware under the Playlist corporate umbrella.
Playlist CEO Fritz Lanman and EGYM CEO Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer will share leadership of the new entity. The merger is a significant consolidation in the wellness sector, aiming to create an integrated system covering business operations, class discovery, workout delivery, and corporate wellness benefits.
Unprecedented Scale in Wellness
The scale of the merged company is vast. It will reach millions of users across more than 30 countries, bringing together over 40,000 businesses on Mindbody, more than 88,000 venues on ClassPass, upwards of 20,000 employer partners through EGYM Wellpass, and over 33,000 fitness locations with EGYM equipment.
This move follows a trend of consolidation in the fitness technology space. Recent examples include MyFitnessPal acquiring AI calorie counter Cal AI and Strava purchasing running app Runna and cycling app The Breakaway. EGYM itself acquired U.S.-based FitReserve in 2024.
Shift from IPO Plans to Strategic Merger
The merger marks a strategic pivot for Playlist, which was operating as Mindbody-ClassPass and exploring a potential initial public offering (IPO) in 2024. By 2025, it rebranded as Playlist before pursuing this combination with EGYM instead of a public listing.
The transaction included $785 million in new investment led by Jared Kushner’s Affinity Partners, with participation from Vista Equity Partners, Temasek, and L Catterton. This capital is earmarked for future artificial intelligence (AI) development and to support EGYM's expansion into North America and Asia.
AI at the Core of Integrated Services
AI is a central pillar of the combined company's strategy. Playlist has already deployed several AI-powered tools, including Mindbody’s Messenger AI for customer inquiries, ClassPass’s SmartTools for optimising class capacity, and EGYM Genius for creating personalised, equipment-aware training plans in gyms.
The company declined to provide specifics on upcoming AI features. The merger aims to leverage these technologies across its expanded platform, connecting the dots between fitness businesses, consumers, and employers in an increasingly digital health landscape.