Kayla Itsines scores mega-payout in $400m iFIT deal
All that grapevining has paid off for Adelaide personal trainer Kayla Itsines, who looks to be the big winner from the sale of her and former partner Tobi Pearce’s online business to an American buyer for about $US300m ($402m).
While the couple, who split last year but continue to run their health and fitness app business Sweat together from its headquarters in Adelaide, founded the operation, 30-year-old Itsines appears to effectively control three-quarters of the enterprise, with Pearce, who turned 29 on Wednesday, holding the balance.
At that split, Itsines’ stake is worth $US225m, while Pearce will pocket $US75m, making chimp change of the $23m in dividends that the duo shared in December.
Both will now work in Adelaide for new parent iFIT Health and Fitness Inc, which is based in Logan, north of Salt Lake City, Utah, and counts Michael Phelps and US Olympic soccer player Alex Morgan among its other trainers.
It is unclear whether iFIT, which last month changed its name from ICON Health and Fitness and is working towards taking on Nasdaq-listed rival Peloton with a sharemarket float later this year, will pay the Aussie couple their millions in cash, shares, or a combination of both.
Consideration for the $US300m deal at least partly in stock could expose the pair to the vagaries of the US sharemarket, with iFIT said to be working with Morgan Stanley and Bank of America for an IPO.
The US group, which is among the world’s largest manufacturers of fitness equipment like treadmills, rowers, exercise bikes and steppers, raised $US200m in equity last October in a deal that valued the company at about $US7bn.
Company records show that Sweat is controlled by parent company Sweat Group Pty Ltd, which has $230m worth of fully paid ordinary shares.
Half of that is owned by Itsines in her own name, while the other half is controlled by The K&T Investments Company Pty Ltd, which is controlled 50-50 by the Sweat founders, who are parents to two-year-old daughter Arna.
iFIT is a family-dominated company too, founded by now billionaire chair and CEO Scott Watterson, who is Itsines and Pearce’s new boss.
The local pair are well established in the City of Churches.
Last year Pearce, via a new company Pearce Establishment Pty Ltd, paid $1.675m for a modern, minimalist home in Beaumont, without the need to tap any institution for a mortgage.
Itsines retains her expansive home in Adelaide’s inner suburban Malvern, for which she paid $3.9m in 2017. The home, which features a pool, tennis court, cellar and guest studio was listed for sale towards the end of last year, but has been retained by the fitness instructor.
Maybe she is planning to build a gym.
-
Barnaby’s bees
It has been hard to miss Barnaby Joyce’s blustering return as deputy PM, but just three weeks into his tenure there’s no denying the New England MP is building his army and setting out his battle plans.
None other than former top cop Mick Keelty is poised to join the fold this week, fresh from his most recent stint as interim inspector-general for the Murray Darling basin.
Keelty is no stranger to the Nationals, hand picked for that very role by then water minister David Littleproud back in 2019 when tensions were rising over water rights and sharing arrangements between the states.
More recently, it is Keelty’s correspondence with on-trial commando Ben Roberts-Smith that has made headlines, though to date he’s avoided any call-up before the trial in Sydney or otherwise.
His new beat harks back to his time as AFP commissioner, a role he retired from in 2009, set to oversee policy for all things national security as well as Covid-19, among other.
Keelty isn’t the only familiar face within the ranks, Jake Smith is also making a return to the office as chief of staff, a posting he held during Joyce’s initial stint as deputy, and all the way through the ensuing Vikki Campion scandal.
Lifetime public servant Mary Balzary, recently returned from working with Joe Hockey and then Arthur Sinodonis in Washington, completes the picture as Smith’s deputy.
With all that firepower surely there’s someone to advise he wear a mask at the servo next time.
-
Channelling Twiggy
As Rio Tinto continues to rebuild its image post-Juukan Gorge, Margin Call hears a familiar face has been charged with the reformation of its iron ore arm.
None other than this column’s former colleague turned Labor staffer Andrew Burrell is set to embark on the new role of chief external adviser, reporting to new iron ore boss Simon Trott.
What better way to win back the respect of traditional owners and politicians alike than to enlist the author of the (unauthorised) biography of the man who can do no wrong, Andrew Forrest.
All those hours spent pouring over the iron ore magnate’s dealings have got to stick.
It’s a step up from Perth-based Burrell’s current position advising Trade and Resources Shadow Minister Madeleine King, though a natural fit given the close connection of the office with the major miners, the minister only last December making a visit to Rio’s Dampier site.
Thanks for stopping by to visit us at Dampier, Madeleine! https://t.co/MqYCumCPSY
— Rio Tinto (@RioTinto) November 20, 2020
Margin Call hears the ink is only fresh on the agreement however, with plenty of time before Burrell officially starts next month.
He fills the role left behind by Brad Haynes, for a time also Rio’s ill-qualified head of indigenous relations, who was one of the last out the door in the Jean Sebastian Jacques-led exodus sparked by the handling of the Juukan Gorge scandal.
The ongoing parliamentary inquiry will remain a headache for the new staffer however, with a final report scheduled for mid-October.
We can’t say he wasn’t warned.
Richard White speech to paint the town red
Liberal Senator Andrew Bragg is offering ringside seats to the best show in Sydney – but will tech billionaire Richard White deliver?
Rick Leblanc Who? Richard White’s lacklustre nom de guerre
Richard White’s alter ego is more blancmange than Hollywood, court documents show.