ClassPass-owner Playlist, EGYM to merge in deal backed by Jared Kushner's firm

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Gym booking app ClassPass owner Playlist said on Thursday it would merge with fitness-tech firm ​EGYM in a deal that includes equity funding ‌of $785 million, led by Jared Kushner's investment firm Affinity Partners.

The deal, which ‌Playlist said valued the combined entity at $7.5 billion, includes fresh investment by Affinity Partners along with existing investors such as Vista Equity Partners, Temasek, and L Catterton, the company said.

The fresh ⁠equity funding will help ‌investment in artificial intelligence, and support EGYM's push into Playlist's core markets, including North America and ‍Asia where they currently have a limited presence, according to Playlist.

The merger comes at a time when younger Americans are increasingly prioritizing ​their spending on health and wellness even against the backdrop ‌of a volatile economy.

In the United States alone, spending on wellness was estimated at more than $500 billion annually, growing at 4% to 5% each year, a 2025 McKinsey survey showed. Gen Z and millennials drove more than 41% of this ⁠annual wellness spend, according to the ​report.

Playlist, which has a wide range ​of fitness and health platforms that allow people to book workout sessions online, said that the combined ‍net revenue of ⁠the companies in 2025 stood at more than $800 million.

Post merger, Playlist's brands, which include Mindbody, Booker and ClassPass, ⁠will operate as usual and EGYM will continue its operations as a ‌subsidiary within the Playlist portfolio.

(Reporting by Angela Christy in ‌Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)