Anschutz Pumps Up With Ballys

It can’t be said that Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz doesn’t have a healthy portfolio.

It may be about to bulk up even more with reports that the AEG founder is poised to acquire a significant stake in Bally Total Fitness, one of the country’s biggest operators of fitness centers.

The troubled company will file for bankruptcy, cancel its stock and hand itself over to its bondholders, including Anschutz Investment, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

Anschutz used a similar technique to acquire three underperforming movie-theatre chains and roll them up into Regal Entertainment Group, one of Anschutz’s most successful operations. The transaction will require consent from a second set of bondholders and company creditors, the paper said.