Amazon and Nike eye Peloton bids after valuation plunges from $50bn to $8bn

Amazon and Nike are reportedly mulling separate bids for Peloton, after calls from an activist investor to sell off the exercise equipment giant.

After riding the pandemic high to an eyewatering $50bn valuation 12 months ago, Peloton has backpedalled to a humbler $8bn capitalisation.

Activist investor Blackwells Capital, which owns a little under five per cent of the company, has accused boss and co-founder John Foley of misleading investors and hiring his wife in an executive role which it claims wiped $40bn off shareholder income.

While other buyers are expected to emerge, including Apple and private equity heavyweights, the Financial Times reported, a sale is unlikely to go ahead unless Foley gives the green light.

Nike had reportedly considered a bid for Peloton before the company went public in 2019, but decided not to follow through with it.

Peloton’s share price jumped around a third on Friday, after The Wall Street Journal reported that Amazon was considering a bid – which would likely be the e-commerce giant’s biggest deal since the £13.7bn buyout of Whole Foods Market in 2017.

The increase has partially offset the losses the company swallowed in late January, after its share price sank around 20 per cent on reports that it is set to temporarily stop producing its bikes and treadmills amid collapsing demand.