Planet Fitness Completes Refinancing Transaction; Appoints Roger Chacko Chief Commercial Officer
Posted: August 1, 2018 in Chains
Planet Fitness
HAMPTON, N.H. – Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE:PLNT) (together with its subsidiaries, the “Company”) announced that it has completed its previously announced refinancing transaction of certain of its subsidiaries with a new securitized financing facility, with the placement by its special purpose subsidiary (the “Master Issuer”) of a new series of $1.275 billion of securitized notes (the “2018 Notes”).
The 2018 Notes include $1.2 billion Class A-2 Senior Secured Notes (the “Senior Notes”), which consist of two tranches: the Class A-2-I Senior Secured Notes with an anticipated repayment date of four years, with a principal amount of $575 million and a fixed interest rate of 4.262% per annum, payable quarterly, and the Class A-2-II Senior Secured Notes with an anticipated repayment date of seven years, with a principal amount of $625 million and a fixed interest rate of 4.666% per annum, payable quarterly. The 2018 Notes also include a revolving financing facility that allows for the issuance of up to $75 million in variable funding notes, which is currently undrawn.
The proceeds from the placement of the Senior Notes will be used as follows:
- the Master Issuer will use approximately $706 million to repay in full the existing indebtedness under the Company’s senior secured credit facilities,
- to pay the transaction costs and fund the reserve accounts associated with the securitized financing facility, and
- for working capital purposes and for general corporate purposes, which may include a return of capital to the Company’s equityholders.
The Master Issuer and its subsidiaries hold or have the right to receive payments on substantially all of the Company’s revenue-generating assets in the United States and will use cash flows generated from these assets to make interest and principal payments on the 2018 Notes.
This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the 2018 Notes or any other security. The 2018 Notes to be offered have not been, and will not be, registered under the Securities Act of 1933 and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933.
HAMPTON, N.H. – Planet Fitness, Inc. (NYSE: PLNT) announced that Roger Chacko has been appointed Chief Commercial Officer effective immediately. In this newly created position, Chacko will be responsible for overseeing the Company’s demand generation functions such as marketing, branding, public relations and communications, sales and corporate partnerships, channel management, corporate strategy, analytics, and consumer research. He will report directly to Chris Rondeau, Chief Executive Officer of Planet Fitness.
Chacko has been with the Company since March 2018 on a consulting basis where he has served as interim Chief Marketing Officer. He joins Planet Fitness with more than 25 years of senior global leadership experience, most recently serving as EVP, Global Chief Commercial and Branding Officer at Carlson Hotel Group. Prior to that, Chacko served as EVP, Chief Strategy Officer at Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. and EVP, Chief Marketing Officer of USAA. Additionally, Chacko has previously held various senior executive marketing, strategy, and P&L roles at leading consumer brands, such as Mars, Kellogg’s and Danone.
“This newly created leadership role will enable Planet Fitness to capture our vision of putting the member at the center of everything we do, and our mission to deliver exceptional 360-degree branded omni-channel experiences that create sustainable and profitable growth for the company,” said Chris Rondeau, Chief Executive Officer of Planet Fitness. “We have had the pleasure of working with Roger for the past five months and have been incredibly impressed with the impact he has already had in such a short time. I am thrilled to officially welcome Roger to Planet Fitness and I am confident he will play an instrumental role in helping to propel the business and brand forward.”
“I am eager to take on this new role and continue to partner with Chris and the Planet Fitness team,” said Chacko. “It is a transformational time in the Planet Fitness journey and I look forward to collaborating with our internal teams and franchisees to build on the strong foundation in place, and to help fuel the continual growth of this brand, working together to take it to the next level.”
