ClassPass and Mindbody Merge in $7.5 Billion Deal
▼ Summary
– Playlist, the parent company of Booker, ClassPass, and Mindbody, has completed its merger with smart gym equipment firm EGYM.
– The combined company is valued at $7.5 billion and will be co-led by the CEOs of Playlist and EGYM.
– This merger integrates multiple industry layers, from business software and class discovery to gym equipment and corporate wellness benefits.
– The new entity will have a massive scale, reaching millions of users and hundreds of thousands of businesses and venues globally.
– The deal, which included $785 million in new investment, marks a shift from Playlist’s earlier IPO plans and will fund AI development and geographic expansion.
A major consolidation is reshaping the fitness and wellness technology sector. Playlist, the parent company of Booker, ClassPass, and Mindbody, has completed its merger with EGYM, a startup specializing in smart gym equipment and corporate wellness. The transaction, first announced in January, is now finalized, creating a combined entity valued at $7.5 billion.
This merger unites multiple layers of the industry into a single, comprehensive system. Playlist now oversees a portfolio that includes business software for spas and gyms, a popular consumer booking app, smart fitness hardware, and a corporate benefits marketplace. The combined company aims to control everything from back-end business operations to how consumers discover workouts and how employers offer wellness benefits.
The resulting scale is significant. The organization claims it will serve millions of users across more than 30 countries. Its network incorporates over 40,000 businesses on the Mindbody platform, more than 88,000 venues accessible through ClassPass, upwards of 20,000 employer partners via EGYM’s Wellpass, and over 33,000 fitness locations equipped with EGYM technology.
This move is part of a broader trend of industry consolidation. Other recent deals include MyFitnessPal’s acquisition of the AI app Cal AI and Strava’s purchase of the cycling app The Breakaway and the running app Runna. EGYM itself expanded its U. S. presence by acquiring FitReserve in 2024.
The merger also marks a strategic pivot for Playlist. The company, which operated as Mindbody-ClassPass in 2024, had been exploring a potential initial public offering. Instead, it rebranded as Playlist in 2025 to unify its core brands and has now chosen growth through this major acquisition.
The deal was supported by $785 million in new investment from a consortium led by Affinity Partners, with participation from Vista Equity Partners, Temasek, and L Catterton. This capital is intended to fund advanced AI development and accelerate EGYM’s expansion into North American and Asian markets, where it has historically had a smaller footprint.
Playlist has already integrated artificial intelligence across its services. Current features include Mindbody’s Messenger AI for handling customer inquiries, ClassPass’s SmartTools for optimizing class capacity, and EGYM Genius for creating personalized, equipment-aware training plans. The company has not disclosed specifics about future AI initiatives, but the new funding signals a strong commitment to further innovation in this area.
(Source: TechCrunch)
