Weightwatchers’ tasty little dishes are no longer making as much money and it’s the company’s debt that's taken the brunt of the hit, to the point of forcing the iconic company to take refuge behind the Delaware protection regime. Photo: Shutterstock

Weightwatchers’ tasty little dishes are no longer making as much money and it’s the company’s debt that's taken the brunt of the hit, to the point of forcing the iconic company to take refuge behind the Delaware protection regime. Photo: Shutterstock

Previously owned by the Luxembourg holding company Artal--which was in turn, owned by Belgian billionaire Eric Wittouk--Weightwatchers has applied to be placed under Delaware protection. It has a plan to reduce its debt, now worth a billion euros.

Weightwatchers is going through a difficult time. The rise of GLP1 agonist-based weight loss drugs such as semaglutide (Ozempic/Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) is making it harder to sell its points-based diet programmes.

The company is also heavily in debt and now wants to reorganise this debt via bankruptcy proceedings, an operation that should be completed in 45 days. The plan, which Weightwatchers says is supported by its creditors, involves a debt reduction of $1.15bn. Annual interest charges are expected to fall by around $50m and loan maturities would be extended.

In the first quarter of 2025, Weightwatchers posted sales of $186.6m, down around 10% year-on-year, with a loss of $72.6m. The number of subscribers fell by 14.2% year-on-year to 3.43m. The company has not released any forecasts for 2025 as a whole.

For a long time, Weightwatchers was owned by billionaire Éric Wittouck--currently the richest man in Belgium, according to the website derijkstebelgen.be--via his Luxembourg holding company Artal. Artal acquired the dieting company in 1999 from ketchup manufacturer Heinz and floated it on the stock market in 2001. Starting in 2018, Artal gradually reduced its stake, and in 2023, the holding company sold its last shares in Weightwatchers.

This article was originally published in .

Related articles