Peloton Interactive Inc is evaluating interest from potential suitors after a plunge in shares of the home fitness company made it a takeover target, people familiar with the matter said.
The New York-based company is working with an adviser to explore options, the sources said, asking not to be identified because discussions are private.
The takeover interest is exploratory and might not lead to a transaction, they said.
Amazon.com Inc has been speaking to advisers about a potential deal, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.
Nike Inc is also considering a separate bid for Peloton, the Financial Times said.
Both publications cited people familiar with the matter.
Shares of the indoor bike maker surged as much as 43 percent in extended trading on Friday after the report.
Peloton’s stock has fallen more than 80 percent from a high one year ago as the gradual easing of pandemic restrictions fueled concern that growth would slow. The company is valued at just over US$8 billion based on Friday’s official market close of US$24.60, below its September 2019 initial public offering price of US$29.
There is no guarantee that Amazon could follow through with an offer, and other potential suitors are circling, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that no deal is imminent.
Peloton sales surged during the COVID-19 pandemic as people at home during lockdowns turned to its fitness bikes and online classes for exercise. The stock lost some of its luster with the prospect of more people returning to the office.
Activist investor Blackwells Capital LLC last month issued a letter suggesting that the company fire cofounder and CEO John Foley and pursue a sale.
Blackwells said in the letter that potential buyers could include Apple Inc, Walt Disney Co and Nike.
Amazon’s interest could be linked to its effort to gain a greater role in healthcare.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS