Bally's Belly Up

Private equity sharks are circling the near-dead carcass of Bally's Total Fitness as the gym chain prepares to enter bankruptcy with its shares trading at 31 cents. Bally's has been for sale since last year. If no buyer emerges before bankrupcty, all common stock will be wiped out and the owners of the company's debt will become the new owners of the company. In January 2006 Bally's sold their Crunch Fitness division for $45 million. Bally's has long suffered from charges of poor customer service practices, ranging from complaints of over-aggressive sales tactics to claims of fraudulent fees charged to members attempting to end their contracts.