Former English football player David Beckham is suing F45. Photo / AP
Former English football player David Beckham is suing F45. Photo / AP
David Beckham is suing a fitness company for more than US$20 million ($34.7m).
The retired footballer and former golfer Greg Norman have taken legal action against F45 after a promotional agreement allegedly failed to pay out “substantial cash and equity compensation”.
According to documents obtained by The Blast, the ex-sportsmensigned on with the fitness franchise for a deal that should have generated millions of dollars in yearly payments in exchange for the rights to use their images and brands, but things went wrong when F45 allegedly “began to falter” earlier this year due to “fiscal mismanagement and macroeconomic pressures.”
The pair claim millions of dollars were withheld from them by the fitness franchise, despite the company’s contractual obligations, and Beckham argued the deal with him “enhanced its public profile and credibility and helped roll out new fitness offerings for F45″.
He feels this ultimately helped F45 go public in 2021 with a valuation “nearly three times higher” than the company had two years before.
Beckham, 47, bought into F45 when it “led an investment round that reportedly valued the company at approximately US$634 million”, but a few years later, his investment was worth a “fraction of the value” it was when he first bought in as the value of the franchise plummeted.
Actor Mark Whalberg outside the New York Stock Exchange prior to F45's IPO last July. Photo / AP
The documents state his share was initially valued at around US$11.33 million in January this year but by September, the “value had dropped precipitously and was approximately US$1.97 million – a mere fraction of the value [Beckham] would have received had F45 timely complied with its contractual obligations.”
Other big names involved in the company include actor Mark Wahlberg and NBA legend Magic Johnson, and the lawsuit accused F45 of providing “preferential treatment” to other high-profile investors, allowing those “insiders and company directors” - including the Fighter star - to receive more profits.
Beckham also argued F45 “rendered freely tradable, substantially more stock to various entities affiliated with Fortress Investment Group during this same period of time, and had accelerated the vesting of other shares issued to Wahlberg, another key celebrity, who is also a board member, director, and insider.”
