Playlist, the parent company of the fitness and wellness booking platforms Mindbody, ClassPass and Booker, agreed to merge with EGYM, a Munich company that makes connected strength-training equipment and runs a corporate fitness programme. The deal was announced on January 15, 2026.
The transaction included $785 million of new equity and valued the combined business at an enterprise value of $7.5 billion. Affinity Partners led the new investment, joined by existing investors Vista Equity Partners, Temasek and L Catterton. The companies did not say what share of the combined group EGYM's shareholders would hold or what EGYM itself was valued at.
EGYM continues to operate as a subsidiary within Playlist, and Playlist's own brands carry on as before. Pulse 2.0 reported on April 1, 2026 that the merger had been completed.
What EGYM built
EGYM has operated since 2010 and is led by co-founder and chief executive Philipp Roesch-Schlanderer. It describes its mission as shifting healthcare "from repair to prevention". The business has two main parts.
EGYM Technology sells smart strength machines and software that set personalised, AI-generated training plans for gym members. EGYM Wellpass is a corporate fitness benefit: employers pay for staff to use gyms and health facilities. The Wellpass network partners with more than 20,000 employers and tens of thousands of fitness locations. Athletech News reported that the US gym chain EoS Fitness has adopted EGYM's training programmes in its clubs.
The merger announcements did not give EGYM's own revenue or headcount; at the time of its 2024 funding round, HTGF said it had about 700 employees worldwide. Playlist and EGYM together generated more than $800 million in net revenue in 2025, and said both were growing quickly and were strongly profitable.
“Together, we can reduce chronic disease, lower healthcare costs, and make people healthier and happier by shifting the world from repair to prevention.”
The founders and the funding
EGYM became a unicorn in September 2024, when it raised a Series G of about $200 million from L Catterton and Meritech Capital, both new investors. EGYM and the German seed investor High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF) put the pre-money valuation at more than $1 billion; Roesch-Schlanderer told TechCrunch that the post-money valuation was above $1.2 billion. L Catterton, one of the Series G investors, also took part in the merger financing.
HTGF made EGYM's seed investment in 2011 and calls it one of the most successful companies in its portfolio. EGYM's total funding was not reported in the merger announcements.
Under the merger, Roesch-Schlanderer and Playlist chief executive Fritz Lanman, the founding chairman of ClassPass, were named co-founders of the new Playlist organisation. Roesch-Schlanderer also became co-chairman of Playlist alongside Monti Saroya, co-head of Vista Equity Partners' flagship fund.
Why the companies are combining
The two businesses are strong in different regions. Playlist's core markets include North America and Asia, where EGYM has had little presence, while Playlist has had only a limited footprint in Europe, EGYM's home market. The companies said the new money would let EGYM bring its equipment and Wellpass programme into Playlist's markets and help Playlist grow in Europe.
They also plan to spend more on AI tools that help studios, gyms and wellness operators run more efficiently and keep members engaged. Lanman described the combination as uniting software, connected hardware, consumer booking and workplace wellbeing in one global platform. Saroya said the companies expected network effects across studios, employers and consumers.
Playlist itself was formed through earlier consolidation. Athletech News reported that the company, then called Mindbody-ClassPass, considered a stock market listing in 2024 before rebranding as Playlist in 2025 and moving away from IPO plans.
A busy market for fitness technology
Athletech News placed the deal in a wave of consolidation in fitness, following the 2024 merger of Orangetheory Fitness with Self Esteem Brands, the parent of Anytime Fitness. It also reported that fitness and wellness startups raised $2 billion in 2025.
After closing, Pulse 2.0 reported that the combined Playlist counts more than 40,000 businesses using Mindbody, more than 88,000 venues on ClassPass, more than 20,000 Wellpass employer partners and more than 33,000 fitness locations using EGYM equipment, with more than 3,000 employees and users in more than 30 countries.
