Gym Owner And Peloton Rival Equinox In Talks With Chamath's Social Capital For SPAC Deal: Report

One of the most popular names in the SPAC world is Chamath Palihapitiya.

After months of not announcing a deal or financing the PIPE on an announced deal, Palihapitiya’s name has popped up on a rumor Tuesday night.

What Happened: Equinox, an owner of gyms and the majority owner of SoulCycle has held talks with Social Capital over a SPAC deal, according to Bloomberg.

Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp IV IPOD and Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp VI IPOF are both searching for targets.

Sportico reported in March that Equinox was exploring a sale and had talked to up to 12 SPACs on a possible deal. A deal could value Equinox at $9 billion, according to Bloomberg's sources.

Related Link: Chamath Palihapitiya’s 14 SPAC, PIPE Deals, Tracking Lifetime Performance.

Why It’s Important: Equinox is the majority owner of indoor cycling brand SoulCycle, which is seen as a competitor to Peloton Interactive PTON.

Equinox also owns over 100 full-service fitness clubs worldwide and over 100 US locations of discount gym Blink. The company also owns Precision Run and Pure Yoga. In 2019, Equinox launched a line of luxury hotels.

The company could be considered a reopening play as people venture back to gyms and live workout shifts after the continued rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine.

Silver Lake injected capital into Equinox last year to help the company compete with Peloton, valuing the company at $9 billion.

One item that will be closely watched is valuation given the $9 billion value last year from Silver Lake and the company’s $1.38 billion in reported debt last June.

Price Action: Shares of IPOD are up 1% to $10.74 in after-hours trading. Shares spiked to $11.40 on the initial rumor circulation.

Shares of IPOF are up 1% to $10.55 in after-hours trading.