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The Bay Club Company Acquired by York Capital Management and the Company's Management Team
[June 17, 2014]

The Bay Club Company Acquired by York Capital Management and the Company's Management Team


SAN FRANCISCO --(Business Wire)--

The Bay Club Company ("Bay Club") today announced its controlling acquisition by York Capital Management and the company's management team, in addition to a minority investment from JMA Ventures. As part of the transaction, the new ownership group is growing the pool of employee owners from 40+ to more than 120 managers and directors. The seller was an affiliate of KSL Capital Partners, LLC. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Founded in 1977, the California-based, luxury, active lifestyle company was originally known as Western Athletic Clubs until it underwent a rebranding in 2013, bringing all eleven locations across six campuses under one premium brand. This successful rebranding initiative is the culmination of an extensive year-long brand realignment effort - aimed to move Bay Club deeper into the hospitality industry while positioning it for expansion.

Bay Club is recognized as the pioneer of the urban sports resort. Over the past several years, Bay Club has assembled an all-star management team-a blend of fitness, hospitality, technology, and finance veterans. Under the direction of this team, Bay Club was given the opportunity to evolve beyond the fitness industry. As a result, the Company entered the realm of hospitality by grouping complementary properties into campuses and offering its members a range of high-end lifestyle amenities typically only found at country clubs and luxury resorts.

Matthew Stevens, president and CEO of The Bay Club Company, states "The powerhouse combination of Bay Club, York Capital, and JMA will allow us to fully realize our goal of creating active lifestyle campuses throughout California and beond. Each campus will offer members a well-curated assortment of luxury amenities and services too vast to be offered at any single location."



Bay Club welcomes more than 55,000 members at its eleven locations across six campuses throughout California where innovations such as the Seventy-Seven bar lounge, Connect workplace suites and Sanctuary Spas can be found along with luxury athletic club amenities including world-class squash, tennis, and aquatic centers. In addition, numerous resort-level amenities such as bocce courts, fire pits, outdoor bars and water slides are featured throughout the campuses. Both the innovations and amenities have helped solidify the Company's position in the hospitality space which now points toward extensive growth over the next five years.

Regarding the expansion, Stevens said, "The Bay Club Company is poised for growth, as well as further developing existing active lifestyle campuses. Our main priority is to provide our members with even greater lifestyle benefits while expanding throughout California and beyond."


Stevens continued, "At The Bay Club Company, we talk a lot about happiness -- what it is and how we can help our members achieve it; our brand revolves around that concept. With our new ownership structure, we are ideally positioned to achieve the next level of hospitality for our active lifestyle campuses. Our goal is to create an environment that allows members and their loved ones to experience being their happiest selves."

About The Bay Club Company

Founded in 1977, The Bay Club Company is the owner and operator of eleven locations across six active lifestyle campuses throughout California. Bay Club provides club members with the finest resort-level facilities and amenities. For 37 years, Bay Club has maintained the highest standards of professional service, earning a reputation as one of the leading private club companies in the United States in the process. The company currently employs approximately 2,000 people and is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For more information on Bay Club, its clubs or services, visit www.bayclubs.com.

About York Capital Management

York Capital Management is an investment firm established in 1991. The firm pursues a multi-strategy investment style and manages over $22 billion across strategies in offices in New York, London, and Hong Kong.

About JMA Ventures

JMA Ventures, LLC is a San Francisco based investment and real estate development company with a 20-year track record of residential and commercial projects, with in excess of $1.5 billion of real estate investments across the United States.

About KSL Capital Partners, LLC

KSL is an investment firm specializing in travel and leisure investments in five primary sectors: hospitality, recreation, clubs, real estate and travel services. KSL has offices in Denver, Colorado, Stamford, Connecticut and London, England.


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