Peloton soars on reports that Amazon and Nike are considering bids

Shares in Peloton bounced back on reports that Amazon and Nike are considering bids for the exercise bike maker.

The stock – which soared during lockdown as working from home took off but has since collapsed – gained around 18 per cent in New York. That valued the company, which was founded in 2012, at £7billion.

The rally came after reports over the weekend suggested both Amazon and Nike could launch takeover bids for Peloton. But all three firms declined to comment.

Peloton shares jumped from below $20 each to close to $170 during the pandemic as workers stuck at home snapped up its bikes, which sell for between £1,550 and £2,780. 

But the company has seen its value collapse over the past 12 months and even after yesterday’s rally, the stock is down more than 80 per cent since January 2021. 

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: ‘We are beginning to see one of the after-effects of the recent market correction feed through.

‘Those businesses which have been particularly badly beaten up are now looking vulnerable to opportunistic bids and the speculation is starting to mount.

‘Peloton may be unprofitable, but it is still a strong brand in an emerging world where exercise and tech are likely to be ever more closely linked and it also has a potentially attractive subscription-based model.

‘You could see it as a logical fit for its two rumoured bidders Nike and Amazon.

‘Nike is looking to move beyond footwear and sports attire and Amazon continues to spread its tentacles into more areas of people’s lives.’

Along with the fall in shares, Peloton has faced a series of catastrophes recently.

In the opening episode of the Sex And The City reboot And Just Like That…, broadcast in December, the character Mr Big (played by Chris Noth, pictured) died of a heart attack after using a Peloton bike. Shares fell more than 11 per cent the day after.

Nevertheless, Peloton maintains a loyal following. Chancellor Rishi Sunak is up at 6am in order to be on his bike. 

Sunak is a loyal follower of instructor Cody Rigsby, a 33-year-old New York dancer, who describes himself to his 760,000 Instagram followers as an ‘opinionated homosexual’.

‘Cody is my go-to,’ Sunak said last June.