Allen & Overy advises NORD Holding on merger of AI Group with Jumpers

The merger represents a significant expansion of NORD Holding's involvement in this rapidly growing segment.  It intends to become a leading provider with well over 210,000 members, 64 studios and a strong presence in southern and western Germany.  Marius Neugebauer, founder of Ai Fitness, has a significant stake in the new group and moves to the advisory board, while Jumpers founder and managing partner Stephan Schulan takes over as managing director of the BestFit Group.

The premium discount fitness sector, which offers members a wide range of services at attractive price points, is recording the highest growth rate in the German fitness market.  NORD Holding intends to leverage the structural tailwinds in the market with the BestFit Group and aims to reach a strong position in the national market for the BestFit Group through further acquisitions.

Since 2013, NORD Holding has been supporting the Jumpers Group, founded in 2008, on its path towards becoming a leading provider.  During the NORD Holding ownership, the number of studios has increased from 10 to currently 36, while memberships have expanded from some 20,000 to nearly 90,000.  The Ai Fitness Group is a proven pioneer in the discount fitness sector since its foundation in 2003.  With its all-inclusive offer, the group currently has over 120,000 members and 28 studios.

The Allen & Overy team was led by partner Dr Alexander Veith and associate Linda Mayer (both Corporate/M&A, Munich) and comprised partner Dr Michael Ehret (Tax), counsel Peter Wehner (Pensions, both Frankfurt), senior associates Catharina Glugla (Data Protection, Düsseldorf), Dr Sebastian Schulz (Employment & Benefits, Frankfurt) and Dr Ioannis Thano (Antitrust, Hamburg) as well as associates Sven Bischoff (Tax, Frankfurt) and Anna Kräling (IP, Düsseldorf).