CDM Fitness Holdings (CDM), the largest Planet Fitness franchisee in Massachusetts, has received an investment from Spanos Barber Jesse & Co. (SBJ), a private equity firm that partners with founder and family-owned businesses. SBJ invested in partnership with CDM’s co-founders, Brian Kablik (CEO), Bill Whelan (COO) and Jonathan Epstein (CMO), as well as its CFO, Eric Peabody, all of whom will remain in their present leadership roles. The McLean Group’s Meg Montague and Burt Yarkin of the firm's franchising practice served as the exclusive advisor to CDM.
“We are thrilled to partner with SBJ as CDM enters its next stage of growth,” said CDM CEO Brian Kablik. “We chose SBJ as a result of the team’s many years of experience in the fitness club sector and their passion for Planet Fitness. Their personal ties to Massachusetts and love of the Red Sox and Patriots certainly didn’t hurt either.”
CDM opened its first Planet Fitness club in 2007 and entered into one of the first exclusive area development agreements within the system. Since that time, CDM has grown to 20 clubs in Massachusetts through new club openings and acquisitions and is now the largest Planet Fitness franchisee in the state. In 2011, CDM established the first marketing cooperative in the Planet Fitness system.
Founded in 1992 in Dover, New Hampshire, Planet Fitness (NYSE: PLNT) is one of the largest and fastest-growing franchisors and operators of fitness centers in the United States by number of members and locations. As of March 31, 2019, Planet Fitness had more than 13.6 million members and 1,806 clubs in the 50 states, District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Canada, Dominican Republic, Panama and Mexico. Planet Fitness’ mission is to enhance people's lives by providing a high-quality fitness experience in a welcoming, non-intimidating environment, known as the Judgement Free Zone®.
“We are big believers in Planet Fitness’ disruptive and inclusive fitness club model and have looked for the right opportunity to enter the system for many years,” commented Ben Landis, Managing Director at SBJ. “We found the ideal partners in the CDM team and look forward to continuing to build CDM through both de novo and acquisition growth in the years ahead.”
“In working with CDM Fitness Holdings, we recognized the management team’s goal to find a partner that would not only support their vision for rapid growth, but also be a strong cultural fit with the team,” said Meg Montague, Senior Managing Director at The McLean Group.
Spanos Barber Jesse & Co. is a private equity firm with approximately $300 million of committed capital, focused on leading investments in founder and family-owned consumer, business services and healthcare services companies. SBJ provides thoughtful strategic advice, domain expertise and a partnership-oriented approach to support the goals of entrepreneurs, owners and management teams. SBJ was founded by an experienced team of professionals with a track record of growing companies both as principal investors and as operating executives. Please visit www.sbjcap.com for more information.
About The McLean Group
The McLean Group’s franchising practice provides a full range of M&A advisory and capital-raising services to franchisors and multi-unit franchisees.
The McLean Group is an employee-owned investment bank that provides objective strategic and financial advice on mergers and acquisitions and business valuations. Our investment banking advisory and valuation services are built on comprehensive industry knowledge, extensive transaction experience, senior-level attention to every client engagement and a real-time understanding of industry-specific value drivers. By partnering with clients and providing strategic advice through every phase of a company’s development, The McLean Group is uniquely positioned to support our clients’ long-term success.
