Bally Bankrupt

By Marcus Gilmer in News on Dec 3, 2008 6:40PM

Chicago-based Bally Total Fitness Corp. has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy for the second time in a year. The company will either sell itself or reorganize. Chief Executive Michael Sheehan said in a statement:

The burden of Bally’s long-term indebtedness, coupled with the lack of refinancing options in today’s constrained credit markets, have limited our ability to restructure using out-of-court vehicles, leaving Bally with no alternative other than the actions announced today.

Bally's current debt is reported to be over $800 million with total assets of just over $400 million. The gym company has 347 locations around the country with over three million customers.