The owner of 24 Hour Fitness, the health club chain, is preparing to sell the business

The owner of 24 Hour Fitness, the health club chain, is preparing to sell the business.

The owner of 24 Hour Fitness, the health club chain, is preparing to sell the business in a deal that would mark the dissolution of the once prodigious Forstmann Little private equity empire.

Forstmann Little has hired bankers and is hoping to raise close to $2bn from the sale of the world’s largest privately held gym chain, according to people familiar with the matter. 

The private equity group, which bought the gym chain for $1.6bn in 2005, has met with banks in recent weeks to discuss a sale. The process is at an early stage.

An exit would effectively signal the end of Forstmann Little, once among the world’s largest private equity funds, which sold its talent agency business IMG last year.

The company had tried to sell 24 Hour Fitness 18 months ago, appointing Goldman Sachs to find potential buyers. A deal never materialised, with reports at the time suggesting that offers had come in below the $2bn asking price.

The last of Forstmann Little’s three founders, Theodore Forstmann, died in 2011, leaving the company to be wound up. At its peak the buyout group led acquisitions of companies such as Gulfstream Aerospace, Dr Pepper, Topps and IMG.

The legend of the company was immortalised in the 1990 book Barbarians at the Gate, which detailed the 1980s buyout battle for RJR Nabisco, lost by Forstmann Little.

The book’s title emerged from a conversation Theodore Forstmann had with the chief executive of Bristol-Myers, who, perplexed by the buyout boom, was told: “The barbarians are at the gate, and they’re coming for you next.”

Mark S Mastrov, a former natural-foods salesman, started 24 Hour Fitness in 1983 with a single club. The business operates in 18 states in the US and has about 3m members.

The private equity group, which bought the gym chain for $1.6bn in 2005, has met with banks in recent weeks to discuss a sale. The process is at an early stage.

An exit would effectively signal the end of Forstmann Little, once among the world’s largest private equity funds, which sold its talent agency business IMG last year.

The company had tried to sell 24 Hour Fitness 18 months ago, appointing Goldman Sachs to find potential buyers. A deal never materialised, with reports at the time suggesting that offers had come in below the $2bn asking price.

The last of Forstmann Little’s three founders, Theodore Forstmann, died in 2011, leaving the company to be wound up. At its peak the buyout group led acquisitions of companies such as Gulfstream Aerospace, Dr Pepper, Topps and IMG.

The legend of the company was immortalised in the 1990 book Barbarians at the Gate, which detailed the 1980s buyout battle for RJR Nabisco, lost by Forstmann Little.

The book’s title emerged from a conversation Theodore Forstmann had with the chief executive of Bristol-Myers, who, perplexed by the buyout boom, was told: “The barbarians are at the gate, and they’re coming for you next.”

Mark S Mastrov, a former natural-foods salesman, started 24 Hour Fitness in 1983 with a single club. The business operates in 18 states in the US and has about 3m members.