DC Advisory advises Morphosis Capital on its exit from Stay Fit Gym and the founders on their reinvestment into a combined platform with 18GYM
Background
- Stay Fit Gym is a fast-growing Romanian fitness operator, founded in 2012 by Alexandru Lascar, Marius Preodisteanu, and Laurentiu Lascar, operating 77 clubs as of September 2026
- Morphosis Capital is a leading private equity firm focused on Romanian and CEE SMEs, that invested in Stay Fit Gym in 2021, supporting its expansion
- 18GYM is a Romanian gym chain founded and led by Vlad Ronea and backed by Enterprise Investors (one of the largest private equity firms in CEE)
- With approximately 18m inhabitants, Romania's fitness market remains underpenetrated relative to more mature European markets and is highly fragmented, offering future growth opportunities
Process
- DC Advisory was appointed as exclusive financial advisor by both Morphosis Capital and the founders of Stay Fit Gym to explore various exit and combination options
- This culminated in full M&A advice to the shareholders of Stay Fit Gym on the full exit of Morphosis Capital and to the founders of Stay Fit Gym on their reinvestment into the combined Stay Fit Gym and 18GYM platform, in which they will become minority shareholders. Enterprise Investors will continue to back the combined business as a significant minority shareholder alongside the founders of 18GYM
- DC Advisory leveraged its consumer sector experience to support the clients through the structuring and commercial negotiation of this multi-party transaction
Outcome
- The closing of this transaction is expected within four months and remains subject to customary closing conditions and antimonopoly approval
- The transaction is expected to bring together two fitness businesses in an EU market that is positioned for fitness center growth, creating a dual-brand platform of more than 120 clubs and approximately 130,000 members across Romania
- Morphosis Capital will realize a full cash exit with excellent expected return metrics, while the Stay Fit Gym founders will partner with the 18GYM founder to grow the combined platform together with the support of a leading CEE private equity firm
- The transaction further strengthens DC Advisory's track record of successfully advising founder-owned and sponsor-backed businesses across CEE
“Stay Fit Gym is the kind of story we set out to write when we launched Morphosis Capital: a Romanian founder-led business scaled more than 10x and continuing its journey with a strong new partner. Alexandra, Luka and the DC team managed this demanding deal with real precision and were as invested in the outcome as we were. We thank them for their dedication and look forward to working together again.”
“Alexandra and Luka were extremely helpful throughout this complex transaction, which involved not just a sale but a combination of two businesses. Their technical expertise and diplomatic approach to resolving difficult issues at key moments of the deal were incredibly valuable to us. We truly appreciated their support and professionalism in helping us to navigate the more challenging moments of this process.”
“It has been a pleasure to advise the shareholders of Stay Fit Gym. The entrepreneurial vision and energy of Alex, Marius and Laur, combined with the steadfast support and partnership of Morphosis Capital, have created an exceptional growth story. We wish the founders every success as they embark on this next chapter with their new partners and congratulate Morphosis Capital on an outstanding investment and exit.”
- Consumer, Leisure & Retail
- M&A Advisory
Disclaimer
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