Enterprise Investors merges Romania's two biggest gyms as Morphosis exits at 4.6x
What's the deal? Private equity firm Morphosis CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has agreed to sell its stake in Romanian fitness chain Stay Fit GymDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, which will merge with 18GYMDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → to form a combined platform backed by Enterprise InvestorsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The deal value was undisclosed.
The return: The exit delivers Morphosis Capital Fund IDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → a net multiple of up to 4.6 times invested capital and a net internal rate of return above 40%.
Why now? It marks the end of a five-year hold. Morphosis invested in 2021, when gyms had just reopened after pandemic closures, consumer behaviour was uncertain, and bank financing for the sector was hard to access.
The numbers. At the time of investment, Stay Fit Gym ran seven clubs in Bucharest, with revenue of roughly €1.7 million and EBITDA of €0.5 million. For 2026, it expects revenue of about €34 million and EBITDA of €10 million — both around 20 times higher than at entry.
What's the endgame? Stay Fit Gym grew to 77 clubs, an 11-fold expansion that far exceeded its original target of 25 to 30 new centres. Growth came from opening new clubs and selectively acquiring independent operators, funded by Morphosis capital, operating cash flow, and bank financing. The company also invested in management and technology to standardise the member experience across its network.
"At Morphosis Capital, we want results to define us: to leave behind, at every exit, much stronger companies and to achieve returns that speak for themselves," said Andrei Gemeneanu, managing partner at Morphosis Capital (translated from Romanian). He added that backing fitness in 2021 was "a decision against the current."
The signal: The merger of two of Romania's largest fitness chains points to consolidation in a sector that was written off during the pandemic. For Morphosis, it is the third exit from Fund I — evidence that founder-led small and mid-sized businesses in Central and Eastern Europe can deliver outsized private equity returns.
Read more: start-up.ro
Image credit: Codelocks
