CHICAGO—Bally Total Fitness, which is no longer for sale, is now searching for a new CEO. Paul Toback, Bally’s chairman and CEO, earned a severance of more than $3.8 million and had 135,000 shares of his restricted stock vested after being ousted on Aug. 11. As part of the involuntary separation agreement, Bally will provide Toback and his family with health insurance coverage for the next nine years and pay Toback any unpaid base salary and accrued and unused vacation time through the effective date of Aug. 11. Read the full story.

Two Bally board members will replace Toback on a temporary basis. Don Kornstein, the founder and managing partner of Alpine Advisors, will serve as interim chairman, and Barry Elson, the former acting chief executive officer and director of Telewest Global, will serve as the interim CEO. Both men joined the board in January.

Bally is also shifting course in its strategic alternatives process. Because discussions with potential buyers have not yet resulted in a proposal, agreement or transaction involving a sale or merger, Bally is now focusing on recapitalization, private placement, underwritten rights offering or another type of corporate restructuring. The company also announced that it plans to miss its target for its cash contributions by 10 to 20 percent due to softness in the number of new member joins.

For more information, read Bally’s Aug. 11 filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission or read the story in our September issue of Club Industry’s Fitness Business Pro. If you’re interested in commenting on Toback’s involuntary resignation or the future of Bally, e-mail Amy Fischbach.

Want to use this article? Click here for options!
© 2012 Penton Media Inc.