FORMERLY PE OWNED
Equinox
Includes Equinox Fitness, Equinox Gym
luxury gym · New York, NY
- PE Firm
- North Castle Partners / J.W. Childs
- Acquirer
- Related Companies
- Year Acquired
- 2000
Private equity bought it, sold it, then bought back in. Members got a $40,000 tier and a cancellation fight.
What Happened
- Equinox was PE property before Related showed up: North Castle Partners and J.W. Childs bought out the founders in December 2000, and their funds owned about 93% when real-estate developer Related Companies bought the whole company for $505 million in a deal that closed in early 2006
- Then private equity came back. L Catterton bought a "significant minority" stake in 2017, and Silver Lake invested in 2020 and still lists Equinox as a current holding
- Related chairman Stephen Ross, one of Equinox's investors, hosted a $250,000-per-ticket Trump fundraiser in 2019. Members called for boycotts, and Equinox's chairman wrote to them that Ross "does not run the company"
- Raised $1.8 billion in 2024 to pay off loans coming due, led by Sixth Street and Silver Lake. Sixth Street's own SEC filings show its piece came as loans charging up to 16% interest
- Launched a $40,000/year 'longevity' membership tier while sister brand Blink Fitness filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The Damage Done
- Budget sibling Blink Fitness collapsed into bankruptcy in August 2024 and was sold off — the members who'd chosen Blink because they couldn't afford Equinox were the collateral damage
- New York Attorney General forced Equinox to pay $600,000 in penalties for making it hard for members to cancel
- Launched a $40,000/year 'Optimize' membership that doesn't even include a basic gym membership
Sources
- AG James secures $600,000 from Equinox for hard-to-cancel memberships — NY Attorney General(2025-05-01)
- Blink Fitness files for bankruptcy — CNBC(2024-08-12)
- Equinox launches $40,000 membership — CNBC(2024-05-06)
- Equinox/SoulCycle faces outrage over Trump fundraiser — CNN(2019-08-07)
- Equinox Holdings Form 10-K: North Castle Partners and J.W. Childs funds own ~93% (SEC)(2005-08-15)
- Equinox Holdings Form 10-Q: definitive merger agreement with The Related Companies ($505 million) (SEC)(2005-12-05)
- Equinox Holdings Form 15: termination of SEC registration after the Related buyout (SEC)(2006-02-17)
- Equinox Group Secures Strategic Investments to Refinance Existing Loans — PRNewswire(2024-03-08)
- Equinox Holdings 424B3 prospectus: December 2000 recapitalization; new shares issued to North Castle, J.W. Childs (SEC)(2004-08)
- Equinox Fitness Clubs Receives Investment from L Catterton (L Catterton release)(2017-07-11)
- Equinox Group — Silver Lake portfolio ('Partner Since 2020', 'Current Investment')(2026-09-23)
- Sixth Street Lending Partners Form 10-Q: Equinox Holdings first-lien and second-lien loans (SEC)(2024-11)
- Equinox: Trump fundraiser Stephen Ross doesn't run our company — CNN Business (Jordan Valinsky)(2019-08-15)