Newsletter Edition 66
Apr 17, 2025
BRS & Co Explores $1bn Sale of EoS Fitness
Private equity firm BRS & Co is considering a sale of EoS Fitness that could value the fast-growing gym chain at around $1 billion, including debt, according to a Reuters report citing unnamed sources familiar with the matter.
The New York-based firm has reportedly tapped investment bank Piper Sandler to run the sale process and gauge buyer interest. While the discussions are still in early stages, the sale is expected to attract attention from other private equity firms seeking scalable, recurring-revenue business models.
EoS Fitness has expanded significantly since BRS acquired a majority stake in 2015, growing from just 16 locations to more than 175 corporate-owned gyms across seven U.S. states, including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Texas, and Utah.
Targeting the underserved middle-income demographic, EoS offers memberships starting at $9.99 per month — a value proposition that has helped fuel growth and position the brand as a leading budget-friendly fitness operator. Unlike many of its competitors, EoS owns and operates all of its locations, offering potential buyers more direct control and room for operational improvements.
The capital-light business model, strong member retention, and nationwide growth potential make EoS an attractive asset for private equity investors — especially as the fitness sector rebounds from pandemic-era disruptions.
News of a possible EoS sale comes on the heels of Leonard Green & Partners’ acquisition of Crunch Fitness, highlighting continued private capital interest in the health and wellness industry. While Crunch follows a franchise-heavy model, EoS’s corporate-owned approach could appeal to buyers looking for deeper operational influence and more direct growth opportunities.
https://www.privateequitywire.co.uk/pe-firm-brs-co-mulls-1bn-eos-fitness-sale/
EQT Raises Over $10bn for Flagship Asia Buyout Fund
Swedish private equity giant EQT has secured more than $10 billion in investor commitments for its latest Asia-focused buyout vehicle, BPEA Private Equity Fund IX, according to a Reuters report citing the firm’s Q1 results.
Launched in August 2024 and managed by EQT Private Capital Asia, the fund is targeting $12.5 billion with a hard cap of $14.5 billion. EQT CEO and Managing Partner Christian Sinding confirmed that the fund has already been activated and is expected to reach its target size by the summer of 2025.
A first close is anticipated in April, with final fundraising projected to conclude in the second half of next year. Should the fund hit or exceed its hard cap, it would become EQT’s largest-ever fund in the region and potentially the biggest private equity fund ever raised for Asia, approaching the $15 billion record set by KKR’s Asia Pacific Fund IV in 2021.
The strong demand for EQT’s latest vehicle highlights investor appetite for Asian private equity, especially as the firm builds on the momentum from its 2022 acquisition of Baring Private Equity Asia. The fund will focus on growth-oriented control investments across sectors such as technology, healthcare, education, and business services throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Coller Capital Launches $2.4bn Structured Secondaries Deal with Barings and Ares
Coller Capital has closed a landmark $2.4 billion structured secondaries vehicle, with major commitments from Barings and Ares Management, marking the largest transaction of its kind in the secondaries market to date, according to Bloomberg.
The vehicle is designed to acquire limited partner stakes in private equity and private credit funds, providing liquidity to existing investors in a constrained exit environment. The deal reflects surging interest in innovative fund finance solutions, as GPs and LPs navigate a slowdown in traditional distributions and rising demand for capital-efficient investment structures.
Barings served as the anchor investor in the senior debt tranches, while Coller and Ares took on the more junior, first-loss equity positions—ensuring alignment with underlying portfolio performance and reinforcing confidence in the asset mix.
The structure of the vehicle mirrors that of a collateralised fund obligation (CFO), repackaging future fund cash flows into bond-like instruments with graded risk profiles. These tranches appeal to institutional investors such as insurers and pension funds, which often favour rated, fixed-income-style exposure for regulatory and capital efficiency reasons.
This latest deal highlights the growing adoption of structured secondaries as a tool for unlocking liquidity in mature portfolios. With traditional exit routes remaining uncertain, structured fund finance is offering GPs new ways to manage duration, extend holds, and return capital to LPs.
Coller Capital, which manages over $40 billion in assets, has been at the forefront of innovation in the secondaries space, expanding its capabilities beyond traditional LP-led transactions into complex fund finance and credit secondaries. The move reflects a broader trend in the private markets industry, where managers are embracing hybrid and structured solutions to meet investor needs.
The deal comes on the heels of similar moves by other asset managers: Bayview Asset Management, for example, recently announced key hires to launch its own fund finance platform—underscoring the growing competition in this high-demand corner of private capital markets.