ICON Health & Fitness, which owns Freemotion Fitness, has received a $200 million growth investment led by private equity firm L Catterton, ICON announced on Oct. 8.
This investment is in addition to the December 2019 $200 million capital raise from Pamplona Capital Management.
The L Catterton investment will accelerate ICON’s growth strategy of delivering its range of interactive fitness products powered by iFit, according to the announcement. iFit is an immersive live and on-demand streaming fitness and wellness media platform.
In mid-October, ICON will launch the Freemotion 22 SERIES, a line of cardio products that provide an interactive, connected fitness experience for commercial fitness facilities.
“This investment is extraordinary news for the ICON family of brands and a huge boost for Freemotion as we launch the 22 SERIES, powered by iFit,” said Dan Toigo, senior vice president and managing director for Freemotion. “It means that the unrivaled interactive, connected fitness experience provided by our machines and content will only expand in the months and years ahead, which is great news for our customers and their members.”
In addition to Freemotion, ICON also owns NordicTrack and ProForm.
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the demand for coach-led workout content as a must-have feature in people's fitness routines, a trend being echoed around the globe, ICON said. Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults who regularly exercise plan to incorporate a mix of training in a gym and at home in the future, according to a July survey conducted by Wakefield Research.
“It’s clear that people are embracing the hybrid gym model, and with approximately 700,000 paid subscribers and rapidly growing, iFit can be enjoyed at home, in the gym and on-the-go across ICON’s diverse range of products and partnerships,” Toigo said. “This places Freemotion in a unique position to help operators implement this home-gym offer and future-proof their businesses. Not to mention that ICON reaches the fitness industry’s largest total addressable market in North America, Europe and around the world, further demonstrating why there’s never been a more exciting time to partner with Freemotion.”