Gym owner 24 Hour Fitness Worldwide Inc. is preparing for a potential bankruptcy to cut its debt as it re-opens locations across the country with precautions in place for social distancing, Bloomberg News reported. The operator of more than 430 mid-tier gyms is in talks with investors over the terms of a loan that would keep the company operating through a court restructuring. The proposed chapter 11 filing would cut 24 Hour’s borrowings by swapping debt for equity and handing control to lenders. Even before the pandemic, the company, which has more than $1.3 billion of debt stemming from a leveraged buyout by AEA Investors and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan in 2014, was struggling to hold onto customers lured by gyms that were either cheaper or fancier.
