Canadian Firm to Buy Fitness Platform Wellbeats – Twin Cities Business Magazine

Toronto-based LifeSpeak Inc. says it’s reached an agreement to buy St. Louis Park-based Wellbeats for up to $92.5 million.

St. Louis Park-based video fitness platform Wellbeats is coming under new ownership.

On Monday, Toronto-based LifeSpeak Inc. announced that it has reached a deal to acquire Wellbeats for up to $92.5 million. LifeSpeak bills itself as a “mental health and total wellbeing platform.” The company’s offerings include wellbeing-focused videos, articles, and live consultations with experts.

Both companies primarily market their products to employers. WellBeats will bring about 400 enterprise clients to LifeSpeak, according to a news release issued Monday. Together, they’ll have a customer base of over 800.

Wellbeats CEO and president Jason Von Bank said the deal will bring “the two halves of the wellbeing equation together for our customers, who have sought mental health solutions to complement our physical wellbeing resource.”

In an email, Von Bank said that Wellbeats expects to maintain its presence in Minnesota. The company keeps a headquarters in St. Louis Park, as well as a studio in Bloomington. No layoffs are anticipated as a result of the acquisition, he said. “On the contrary, we anticipate staff growth,” he added.

The Wellbeats name isn’t going anywhere, either: The company will continue to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary under LifeSpeak, according to Von Bank.

The deal is slated to close in March. Upon closing, LifeSpeak will provide an initial cash payment of $80 million. If the combined company meets certain milestones, LifeSpeak will provide up to $12.5 million in additional payments, according to the news release.

LifeSpeak is publicly traded in Canada. The company is fairly new to the public markets, having made its debut on the Toronto Stock Exchange in July 2021.

For its part, Wellbeats has been selling virtual fitness products long before Covid hit. The company got its start selling kiosks with fitness videos for hotels, colleges, and other organizations. In 2015, the company pivoted and began selling a streaming subscription service for fitness videos.

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