Altamont Capital Partners sells Excel Fitness to Olympus Partners

• Altamont exits after six years of partnership with Excel Fitness
• Altamont is a founding partner of Ownership Works, a new non-profit dedicated to developing employee ownership programs to create better work environments and financial opportunities for employees
• Excel Fitness operated 18 Planet Fitness locations at the time of purchase, today operates over 90 locations

Altamont Capital Partners has exited its investment in Excel Fitness with a sale of the company to Olympus Partners. The transaction was completed in May, and Excel’s management team, along with Altamont, created a bonus pool that ensured every employee received a payment at closing in recognition for their contributions.

Altamont bought Excel Fitness, a Planet Fitness franchise business, in 2016. Excel Fitness operated 18 Planet Fitness locations at that time, today Excel operates 90 locations across Virginia, North Carolina, Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas.

Altamont Capital Partners is a private investment firm headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. It has $4.5 billion in assets under management and is focused on investing in and growing mid-market companies. It invests across sectors.

Altamont is a founding partner of Ownership Works, which is a non-profit dedicated to developing employee ownership programs to improve performance by attracting and retaining employees who are invested in the success of the company.

Olympus Partners is headquartered in Stamford and invests across sectors. It has several healthcare companies in its existing portfolio including AMN Healthcare, Onsite Women’s Health and Symmetry Medical. It looks to invest in market leaders with dominant positions within their industries.

Altamont managing director Kevin Mason said, “Excel Fitness has seen tremendous success in recent years and wouldn’t be where it is today without the hard work and commitment of its team members, and we are confident that because of them the company is well-positioned for continued growth.”

Excel Fitness CEO CJ Bouchard said of the sale, “We have had a fantastic run these past six years and are looking forward to embarking on this next chapter as we continue expanding our business and providing world-class experiences for our members.”

Private equity firms are increasingly looking for ways to include employees as portfolio companies reap financial rewards. It’s a movement KKR’s Pete Stavros has been leading. For more, see this story.