On December 31st, North Castle Partners announced the sale of Octane Fitness, LLC, a leading manufacturer of zero-impact cardiovascular fitness equipment, to Nautilus, Inc. (NYSE:NLS) for a purchase price of $115 million. For North Castle Partners, a leading private equity firm focused on consumer businesses that promote Healthy, Active and Sustainable Living, the deal represents another successful transaction in the fitness sector. "Our partnership with the Octane Fitness team is the most recent example of North Castle's vision of realizing the power of values-based partnerships and experienced...

National Fitness Products of Canada Inc and Interactive Fitness, manufacturers of the Expresso Interactive bikes, have teamed up for distribution of the Expresso bike products in Canada. Expresso bikes connect members and keep them motivated through an interactive virtual reality cycling experience with fun team and individual challenges. Expresso bikes are the leading member engagement fitness products in the market. Interactive Fitness believed that exercise should be fun. We believe people will stay motivated longer and work harder when members are engaged in their workouts. Expresso bikes...

Daxko, Inc. announced in December that it has acquired CSI Software LLC, provider of enterprise software to health and fitness clubs, campus recreation centers, parks and recreation centers, wellness centers, and nonprofit organizations. The acquisition represents a meaningful and logical market expansion, as Daxko is already the largest provider of health and wellness software to member-based nonprofits such as YMCAs and Jewish Community Centers. “Our two companies have been familiar with each other over the last decade, but with very little overlap in terms of the segments of the market...

Consensus on injury and illness prevention aids physicians and athletes The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and five other professional organizations released a new team physician consensus statement today that outlines best practices for injury and illness prevention for athletes of all levels. This statement is the newest paper in a series published since 2000 that addresses pertinent topics such as return-to-play decisions, concussion treatment, injury and illness prevention, sideline preparedness, psychological issues and other important topics. The team physician consensus statements...

University of Texas Health researcher Harold Kohl, Ph.D., helped lead project. The Global Observatory for Physical Activity (GoPA!), a council of physical activity researchers including Harold Kohl, Ph.D., of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health, unveiled today baseline data cards for 131 countries across the world. These cards offer a detailed look at physical activity research, policy and surveillance worldwide. GoPA! was launched in 2012 after publication of the landmark Lancet Physical Activity Series which described a worldwide physical...