Behind the private equity headline, Hyrox’s ownership change is a founder buyback.
Hyrox’s founders are emerging from this sale with more control, not less. Infront Sports & Media confirmed on September 8 that it sold its majority stake in the hybrid fitness series to a consortium comprising L Catterton, founders Christian Toetzke and Moritz Fürste, and WndrCo, a structure that differs from pre-close reports portraying the deal primarily as an L Catterton acquisition. Per Bloomberg, L Catterton was nearing a controlling stake at a valuation of roughly €600 million ($697 million), with Asian co-investors under consideration.
We reported the talks in June, when Sky News named L Catterton as the suitor and noted the firm is backed by the family office of LVMH chief executive Bernard Arnault. That detail dropped out of last week’s reporting entirely, as did the extent of the founders’ role. Infront’s own confirmation lists Toetzke and Fürste as co-acquirers alongside L Catterton and WndrCo, the fund co-founded by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Sujay Jaswa, with the founders set to regain majority control. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Infront, the Swiss sports business and media group backed by China’s Dalian Wanda Group, invested in Hyrox in December 2019 and took majority control in October 2022. Under that ownership, Hyrox grew to more than 100 events and 1.4 million participants in the 2025/26 season, up from 425,000 to 550,000 across roughly 80 events two seasons earlier.
Founded in Hamburg in 2017, the format pairs eight one-kilometer runs with eight functional stations. Infront itself was the subject of separate takeover speculation earlier this year; Wanda confirmed then it would keep control of Infront, a distinct matter from the Hyrox stake sale.
The founders buy back
Infront calls this a “strategic review” that frees capital for the rest of its Active Lifestyle portfolio. For the founders, regaining majority control keeps Hyrox’s direction in-house as co-founder Toetzke pursues what he has flagged as the priority now: Olympic recognition for the format, alongside continued calendar expansion. WndrCo’s presence points to that same ambition read through a media lens: the firm led the $15 million seed round behind Xenom, a rival hybrid-fitness circuit applying a similar model to CrossFit, back in March. It is now backing Hyrox itself.
Private equity pushes deeper into hybrid fitness
Consumer-focused private equity has been moving into hybrid and connected fitness in the recent years. L Catterton already holds stakes in Equinox, rowing machine maker Hydrow and golf equipment maker LAB Golf. Hyrox’s 2027 World Championships, set for Hong Kong, will be the format’s first edition outside Europe or North America.
Three things remain unresolved.
The €600 million valuation has not been confirmed by any party. WndrCo’s stake size and any operational role beyond capital are undisclosed. And whether L Catterton still intends to bring in Asia-based partners, as pre-close reporting suggested, is not addressed in Infront’s confirmation.
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