NordicTrack Owner Icon Tops $7 Billion Valuation on New Funding

(Bloomberg) -- Icon Health & Fitness, a maker of exercise equipment and software, has raised $200 million from investors including L Catterton and current backer Pamplona Capital Management.

The owner of NordicTrack, ProForm and Freemotion brands, which also operates the on-demand streaming platform iFit, is profitable and posted revenue of more than $1 billion in the 12 months through September, the company said Monday. The latest round values Icon at more than $7 billion and is a precursor to a potential initial public offering within the next year, according to a person with knowledge of the matter.

“Health and fitness have never been more important to consumers globally, and we are seeing explosive growth across our subscription software and fitness equipment businesses,” Icon founder and Chief Executive Officer Scott Watterson said in a statement. “We saw this fast-growing demand going into 2020, and this has accelerated sharply as people's desire to stay healthy has intensified.”

Watterson credited L Catterton's track record of backing consumer and fitness businesses. The private equity firm, backed by luxury-goods giant LVMH, has made investments in companies including Peloton, Hydrow, Core Power Yoga, Pure Barre, retailer Sweaty Betty and Latin America-focused gym company Bodytech.

Icon's “broad range of products across price points has democratized fitness, making it more accessible to everyone, everywhere,” said Scott Dahnke, global co-CEO of L Catterton. ProForm, for instance, makes iFit-compatible bikes that retail for about $799, less than half the price of a bike made by Peloton Interactive Inc., whose shares have more than tripled this year.

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Icon, based in Logan, Utah, also makes treadmills, rowers, ellipticals and strength-training machines.

With about 700,000 paid subscribers, its iFit facilitates workouts that are streamed in English, Spanish, French and Mandarin, and Icon intends to roll out other languages next year. Pamplona, an investment firm with offices in London, New York and elsewhere, led a $200 million investment in iFit in December. Icon holds about 330 patents and its products are available in more than 110 countries.

See also: Hydrow raises $25 million led by LVMH fund to take on Peloton

Connected fitness companies have thrived during the pandemic, with many closely held businesses taking the opportunity to raise capital. Zwift, a startup that hosts virtual-reality cycle races, raised $450 million last month from investors led by KKR & Co. That funding round valued Zwift at more than $1 billion and will allow it to introduce its own indoor bike and other hardware. And startups Tempo and Tonal, which make so-called smart gyms, both raised cash in recent months.

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