Greg Norman, David Beckham sign lucrative F45 endorsements
It’s not every day an Australian-founded business hits the New York Stock Exchange, let alone one valued at more than $2bn as did F45 Training on Thursday.
Alongside founder and now The List entrant Adam Gilchrist, there was key backer actor Mark Wahlberg as well as a smattering of celebs the likes of model Cindy Crawford, DJ Steve Aoki and even our very own Great White Greg Norman.
Needless to say former NSW premier turned US consul-general Nick Greiner was far from the biggest name in the room.
Turns out there’s more to Norman’s glowing social media support of the franchise operator than just supporting his fellow compatriots.
Details in the prospectus show the 66-year-old has snagged one hell of a promotional agreement with the fitness chain, scoring a $US5m ($6.7m) performance bonus as F45 went public.
The five-year deal signed last October also includes quarterly payments of $US125,000 and a 15 per cent equity stake of the group’s over-50s men’s offering Malibu Crew – still yet to be fully valued.
In return, F45 requires Norman to post no fewer than two social media posts a month across any platform, and two photo or video shoots a year, among other things.
Easy money for the now very internet-savvy golf star who set tongues wagging last September for showing off his physique in those now infamous blue shorts.
Similarly, Crawford, 55, signed a deal from July 1, also giving her a $US5m performance payment at IPO, ongoing $US125,000 quarterly payments for the next five years and a 10 per cent stake of the female over-50s offering, Avalon House.
Dwarfing both is soccer star David Beckham, who has signed on as a key face in the UK and European rollout.
Beckham’s DB Ventures gets $US7.5m over the next five years, as well as a 2 per cent stake in the company – worth roughly $US40m – over two tranches in the next 12 months.
If only getting the chiselled abs was so easy.
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Pay row in the mail
She may have charmed the unions at Australia Post but new boss-elect of Global Express Christine Holgate might need a hired gun handling industrial relations at the group now that the Transport Workers Union is firing up at Toll.
Margin Call hears that Holgate has hit the ground running after being appointed by new owners Allegro Funds to run what is for now still Toll’s Global Express business, which was bought by the private equity group two months ago.
As we revealed this week, she has lined up at least two of her key staff from Post to join her at the transport group – her former executive assistant Vicki Ballantyne and Post’s manager of mail services Michael Oates, who finished up last week after five years at the national postal service.
But while Allegro’s deal to buy Toll’s Global Express from Japan Post for an undisclosed price was announced at the end April, it is yet to settle.
Toll staff are understood to have been told by management that the deal is now expected to complete by the end of the second quarter of Toll’s financial year, ending March 31.
That means Allegro may not be in the driver’s seat until the end of September.
That gives the powerful TWU plenty of time to create stormy seas at Global Express and the wider Toll group amid enterprise bargaining talks.
As Holgate gets on with what she can working for Allegro, the TWU is threatening to “cripple food and fuel supplies across Australia” by taking strike action in protest at changes to pay and conditions proposed by Toll, which also includes a fair chunk of what will be Holgate’s Global Express workers.
Negotiations between TWU and Toll representatives for a new enterprise agreement covering 7000 workers broke down on Wednesday, with the union saying it would apply to the Fair Work Commission to hold a vote to go on strike.
Margin Call understands any deal struck by Toll with the union will be honoured by Allegro, but if a new EBA is not struck the problem will become Holgate’s and Allegro’s founding partner Adrian Loader, who will chair Global Express. Tense times.
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Doing the splits
Adelaide fitness instructor Kayla Itsines this week scored an impressive pay cheque from the sale of her and Tobi Pearce’sSweat empire to US outfit iFIT. But it seems amid all the paperwork there’s been a few changes to the former couple’s own affairs.
Margin Call hears that, along with the mega fitness deal, Pearce, who is CEO of the operation, has also assumed full ownership of the duo’s K&T Investments. Guess he’ll have to find a new name for it.
The just-lodged documents show 29-year-old Pearce only on Friday was transferred Itsines’s stake for zero dollars.
We’re told the adjustment formalises the couple’s 50-50 split when it comes to the deal proceeds, rumoured to be in the realm of $400m, though as previously noted whether that is paid out in cash, scrip or otherwise is still under wraps.
The deal comes as iFIT flexes its muscles in the local market, only last month appointing PR outfit Lampoon to drive the Australian presence for its NordicTrack and ProForm brands, while US rival Peloton launched only this week.
Both fitness programs cost upwards of $2000 for the hardware – chimp change for the Sweat duo but perhaps out of reach for mere mortals.
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‘Brutal’ Forum fallout
The dominoes continue to fall in the web of Forum Finance director Bill Papas.
As Westpac, Societe Generale and SMBC lawyers continue to put pressure on Papas over an alleged $400m fraud, many of the entities in the group were this month placed in administration or liquidation.
Hardly the desired outcome for a man once touted as a “serial entrepreneur”.
Collateral damage in the crisis is solar provider Autonomous Energy, said to be one of the country’s oldest and most successful. The group’s managing director and founder, Mark Gadd, described the process as “brutal”.
“AE has survived a lot – the GFC, the never ending solar-coaster and even Tony Abbott. But not its brand new owner Bill Papas and the integration with Iugis,” Gadd wrote on LinkedIn.
“Although the company has struggled over the last few years with new majority owners and management, it is still a good business and a great brand, though this ending has been brutal.”
The group was only acquired by Papas through his Iugis in March, described at the time as being part of a move to “become a major sustainability player”.
If only the group could sustain itself.
White knocked back a cut-price way out
Amid the wreckage wrought by his legal dispute with Linda Rogan, WiseTech boss Richard White may now be regretting his decision to not settle the case early.
The Cat’s luxury lair raided by corporate cop
The Byron Bay home of media entrepreneur Antony Catalano was paid a visit by ASIC on the hunt for a computer, as part of an alleged investigation of trading in asset manager Magellan.