I included the rumor in my Morning Links this morning; now Alta Bicycle Share confirms it in an email: The company that manages Capital Bikeshare and similar programs in other cities has officially been purchased.

Bikeshare Holdings LLC, an entity formed by real estate developer The Related Companies and its subsidiary Equinox Fitness, has signed an agreement to purchase Portland, Ore.–based Alta, which operates Capital Bikeshare, New York’s Citi Bike, Chicago’s Divvy, and other systems. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The New York–based Related Companies are best known for their work developing the Time Warner Center on New York’s Columbus Circle. Equinox operates gyms under the names Equinox Fitness and Blink Fitness, as well as PURE Yoga and SoulCycle.

Alta’s new CEO will be Jay Walder, the former chairman and CEO of New York’s Metropolitan Transit Authority. Most recently, Walder served as CEO of MTR Corporation in Hong Kong.

In its announcement, Alta states that the deal will mean a major expansion for New York’s Citi Bike, which will see its bike fleet double from 6,000 to 12,000. There’s no mention of expansions in D.C. or elsewhere. An Alta spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

But for Capital Bikeshare, the deal can probably only be good news. Bikeshare’s expansion ground to a halt this year after Alta’s main equipment supplier filed for bankruptcy, leaving D.C. without a way to procure new bikes and docks.

Photo by Darrow Montgomery