David Beckham's company settles $10M lawsuit with Mark Wahlberg's F45
The Tudor watch brand ambassador and former footballer, David Beckham, on his arrival at the opening of a Tudor boutique, on June 4, 2024, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The store, the first of the firm in Spain, is located on Paseo de Gracia, becom
DB Ventures Limited settled the $10 million lawsuit against Mark Wahlberg's fitness company, F45.
DB Ventures Limited, owned by soccer star David Beckham, originally sued the company claiming F45 owed money for promotional social media posts.
A judge had ordered the lawsuit to trial in 2025, but the two companies have since settled the matter and the lawsuit will be dismissed, Fox News Digital can confirm.
"We are pleased to have settled this issue and to retain our investment in F45, and wish the team all the best for the future," Dan Dienst, executive vice chairman of Authentic Brands Group, on behalf of DB Ventures Limited, said in a press release statement.
DAVID BECKHAM'S $10M LAWSUIT AGAINST MARK WAHLBERG'S FITNESS COMPANY WILL GO TO TRIAL
"For a long time, F45 has been – and continues to be – a supporter of Beckham, as he has been for our brand, and are pleased to have reached a mutual business decision to resolve the matter," Tom Dowd, CEO of F45 Training, said in a statement. "We remain committed to supporting the growth of our global franchisees as demonstrated by our recent strong year-over-year same store sales growth in April of 9.4 percent (F45), 14.9 percent (FS8 Pilates) and 41.7 percent (VAURA Pilates). We are excited about our future and the continued growth of our world-class fitness brands that generated robust total system-wide sales for April of $48.9 million."
DB Ventures initially sued F45, a company Wahlberg partially owns, in 2022. However, the lawsuit was moved into federal court in May 2023.
Beckham claimed he entered into a five-year contract with F45 as a brand ambassador and would be compensated with $1.5 million a year along with shares of the fitness company to be given six months and 12 months after the company went public in 2021.
"Despite DBVL upholding its end of the bargain, however, F45 failed to issue substantial cash and equity compensation to DBVL as required by the parties’ agreement," the complaint filed by DB Ventures Limited read.
DB Ventures Limited claimed F45 failed to hand over the shares for eight months past the original date given. By that time, Beckham's company estimated the shares had dropped in price by $9.3 million, the court documents stated.
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Beckham also asked the court to award $5 million, $4.5 million and $1.7 million for the additional claims listed in the lawsuit – all having to do with breach of contract.
Beckham entered into the five-year agreement with F45 in 2020 and announced the partnership in 2021.
"I’ve been a fan of the F45 franchise and training model since being introduced by my friend, Mark Wahlberg," Beckham said in a statement. "This partnership is an exciting business venture for me also, and I’m looking forward to the journey with F45 as the business continues to expand globally."
The Manchester United star shared multiple Instagram posts promoting the company, but later removed them.
F45 initially sought to have the lawsuit dismissed and claimed DB Ventures Limited had a "skewed reading" of the contract.
"This is a breach of contract action that cannot stand because it is based on a skewed reading of the parties’ agreement that is contrary to its plain language and clear intent," the request read.
A judge denied F45's motion to dismiss in September 2023, Fox News Digital confirmed.
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