The Beachbody Company Group, LLC announced its intention to become a public company by entering into a definitive three-way merger agreement with Forest Road Acquisition Corp., a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company, and Myx Fitness Holdings, LLC, an at-home connected fitness platform featuring an industry-leading bike and home studio.
“When we raised our SPAC, we were determined to find a company with a strong, proven business model and significant growth potential where we could add value from our experience in the creation and monetization of premium content. Beachbody is a perfect fit with those objectives”
Upon closing of the business combination transaction, The Beachbody Company will be the parent company of three premium content and technology-driven businesses: Beachbody On Demand (BOD), Openfit, and Myx. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of 2021 and the combined company will be listed on the NYSE under a new ticker symbol, “BODY”.
Beachbody will continue to be led by Carl Daikeler, Beachbody’s co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer, and Jon Congdon, co-founder of Beachbody and CEO of Openfit. Forest Road’s strategic advisor Kevin Mayer, former CEO of TikTok and visionary leader behind Disney+, will join the combined company’s Board of Directors. Beachbody management and shareholders are rolling over 100% of their equity stake and will own approximately 84% of the pro forma business at the close.
Combined Company Overview
As a leader in digital fitness streaming and nutrition solutions, Beachbody is well-positioned to capitalize on the increased demand for at-home health and wellness offerings and will further invest to drive accelerated customer acquisition, expand internationally, and pursue attractive, high-return M&A opportunities.
With brands such as P90X®, INSANITY®, and 21 Day Fix®, Beachbody has consistently expanded its market share over the past two decades through its proven model of integrating the most comprehensive library of premium fitness content with easy-to-follow nutrition guidance and supplements. Through the BOD and Openfit platforms, the Company has developed a diverse offering of live and on-demand content as well as nutrition solutions that reach a passionate and loyal community, including more than 2.6 million paid digital subscribers.
With the addition of Myx, the Company’s portfolio will expand to include a connected fitness offering that provides a holistic and innovative on and off-bike solution with workouts that are personalized based on machine learning and heart rate data. With an attractive price point of $1,299, Myx sold over 27,000 bikes in its first year of operation and has a highly engaged customer base of users who complete an average of 15 workouts each month. In addition, the merger with Myx will further leverage the scale of The Beachbody Company’s platform as it unlocks synergies across distribution, marketing, and content creation for all three of its brands.
“We are excited to partner with Forest Road and Myx Fitness, and are humbled by the proven team of executives and industry icons who have stepped forward to support our shared vision,” said Mr. Daikeler. “We have seen incredible digital growth in recent years, which was further fueled in 2020 by a structural and lasting shift in how people embrace health and fitness. With the acquisition of Myx, cutting edge technology meets best-in-class streaming content — and we will continue to redefine the at-home fitness experience as we pair the integrated hardware, science-based heart rate coaching and personalized smart recommendations behind Myx with Beachbody and Openfit’s best-in-class content libraries, track record of content innovation and vast network.”
Mr. Mayer commented: “Beachbody’s rapid subscriber growth is grounded in the concept of community and accountability with a mission-driven focus that capitalizes on the huge growth in the health and wellness space. The Company’s engagement and retention metrics validate the quality and depth of its content library and direct-to-consumer (DTC) technology capabilities. I see many parallels at Beachbody with the work we did at Disney, where we aggressively accelerated our digital transformation and leveraged our content to build Disney+, ESPN+, and Hulu. In addition to its significant organic growth potential, the scale and differentiation of Beachbody’s platform will allow us to pursue attractive M&A opportunities in this highly fragmented ecosystem, which will enable us to increase our market share globally and diversify our product offering. I’m excited to join the board to help further fuel growth and value creation for the company and its shareholders.”
“When we raised our SPAC, we were determined to find a company with a strong, proven business model and significant growth potential where we could add value from our experience in the creation and monetization of premium content. Beachbody is a perfect fit with those objectives,” said Tom Staggs, former COO & CFO of Disney and Forest Road board member and strategic advisory committee chair. “We are fortunate to have identified a business poised to benefit from three powerful market trends: digital subscriptions, connected fitness, and growing consumer demand for health and wellness. These trends give us even more confidence that we have found an extremely attractive investment for our shareholders. Beachbody has always leveraged its fitness content to acquire customers profitably and with the proceeds of this transaction, Carl and his team at Beachbody can invest to significantly accelerate customer acquisition and financial growth for years to come.”
About The Beachbody Company
Headquartered in Santa Monica, The Beachbody Company is a worldwide leader in health and fitness, with a 22-year track record of creating innovative content and powerful brands. With 2.6 million paid digital fitness subscribers across two platforms, a nationwide peer-support system of over 400,000 influencers and coaches, and a premium portfolio of branded nutrition products, Beachbody is a leading holistic health and wellness company with over $1 billion in revenue projected in 2021. The Beachbody Company is the parent company to the Beachbody On Demand platform, the fast-growing DTC platform Openfit, which launched in 2019 and features 400+ live trainer-led group fitness classes per week with real-time feedback, and following the merger, Myx Fitness, a connected fitness company which offers science-driven, highly personalized heart rate-based training.
With the highest-rated premium content, and a rating of 4.9 out of 5 stars in the App Store, the Beachbody digital model integrates programs such as P90X®, INSANITY®, 21 Day Fix®, Body Beast®, PiYo®, 80 Day Obsession®, Transform:20® and LIIFT4® on the Beachbody On Demand streaming service with proprietary meal planning strategies and clinically-proven nutrition supplements that are developed by top scientists and fitness and nutrition experts – including the Shakeology line of premium, superfood supplements— and a network of social influencer coaches that delivers motivation and accountability to help customers achieve and maintain healthy results. Featuring a broad range of the nation’s most popular fitness and weight-loss solutions, the Company offers more than 2,300 titles of streamed fitness content (in English and Spanish) with 84 programs for beginners, extreme, dance, yoga, pre/postnatal, kids, etc.
Openfit is a digital streaming platform that integrates fitness, nutrition and wellness together in one place. Openfit provides world-class fitness programs with live trainer-led and on-demand workouts such as Xtend Barre and 4 Weeks of Focus with Shay Mitchell, designed to help subscribers reach any goal with personalized nutrition plans and tracking. Openfit acquired Ladder in 2020, the sports nutrition company founded by LeBron James and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Ladder product is NSF Certified for Sport®, a third-party certification trusted by all major sports governing bodies and verifies that products do not contain any of approximately 270+ substances banned by major athletic organizations and that the contents of the product match what is printed on the label.
About Myx Fitness
Myx Fitness delivers a revolutionary and personalized solution for its members to make connected fitness part of their daily lives. The brand’s cornerstone products, The MYX and The MYX Plus, offer professional-quality equipment at an affordable price, hundreds of on-demand classes, combined with expert coaching on a digital platform, designed to improve endurance, strength, mobility, and flexibility. Using science-backed methods, Myx Fitness utilizes proprietary heart rate technology and cross-training, brought to life through positive coaching, to deliver lasting results. Myx Fitness was founded in 2016 by Brad Palmer and the team at Palm Ventures, his private investment firm focused on incubating market-disrupting businesses.
The MYX and The MYX Plus include a professional-grade Star Trac Stationary Bike, a 21.5″ interactive tablet and a Polar OH1 Heart Rate Monitor. The Plus package also includes three sets of SPRI dumbbells, a kettlebell, a resistance band, a 24″ foam roller and two mats. Myx Fitness uses science-backed, heart rate-based 1:1 training technology to customize every workout to maximize results, ensure lasting results and avoid wasted time and energy. Myx Fitness is available starting at $1,299 with delivery nationwide in approximately three to five weeks depending on location and scheduling availability.
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as a health advice. We would ask you to consult a qualified professional or medical expert to gain additional knowledge before you choose to consume any product or perform any exercise.
