Peloton Eyes Investor to Acquire 15% to 20%

Peloton is pursuing potential investors that could acquire a stake of around 15% to 20% in the fitness company, according to The Wall Street Journal. 

No deal is imminent, but the fitness giant is looking to sell a piece of its business to another leader in the industry, or to a private equity firm. 

• Potential investors include Amazon and Nike.
• Its value currently sits at around $5.6 billion but has reached nearly $50 billion.
• Shares of the company were down more than 3% in after-hours trading on Thursday. 

Peloton’s willingness to relinquish a stake in the company comes as no surprise after activist investor Blackwells Capital — which holds less than a 5% stake — called for a sale, saying the fitness giant cannot reverse its slide as a public company. Peloton reported a net loss of $439 million in fiscal Q2 2022, up from a $55 million loss in Q2 2021.

Change is hopefully coming for Peloton, as it recently hired McKinsey & Co. to evaluate its cost structure and potentially eliminate jobs.

There’s a Catch 

In April, Peloton announced it is cutting the prices of its hardware but raising its subscription fee. The original Peloton bike’s price dropped $300 to $1,195, the Bike+ fell $500 to $1,995, and the treadmill’s was cut by $150 to $2,345.

Subscription fees increased $5 each month to $44 in the U.S. and $4 each month to $55 in Canada, but no other international markets saw an increase.