Peloton indoor cycling startup to go public

Peloton, the virtual spin class startup, has made a confidential filing for an initial public offering. The number of shares to be offered and the price range have not yet been determined.

Peloton Interactive Inc. was founded in 2012. It produces a £2,000 home exercise bike that enables users to take part in virtual spinning classes for a further £40 a month. (Bargain!)

Bloomberg reports that as well as its bike and classes, Peloton also sells a treadmill and streams yoga, meditation and bootcamp classes.

The firm’s celebrity clientele includes Ellen DeGeneres, Hugh Jackman and David Beckham.

In February, it was reported that the firm had sold over 400,000 bikes.

Peloton raised $550 million in a funding round last year and at that time it was valued at $4.15bn. It is now working with Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan and could be valued at more than $8bn.

In December of last year, Peloton told Australian cyclist and YouTube user Shane Miller to stop using its name in the titles of his videos.

A letter from the firm’s lawyers stated: “It has come to Peloton’s attention that you have begun a web series on You Tube under the title ‘Digital Peloton News,’ a program that focuses on news relating to fitness equipment and fitness technology, including bicycle fitness equipment.

“Given that the most prominent and distinctive term in the series title is ‘Peloton’ and given that the series relates to goods very closely related to those sold by our client, Peloton is concerned that consumers will mistakenly believe your web series is affiliated or associated with Peloton.”

Peloton asked Miller to stop using the term within ten days, but later backed down, accepting Miller’s explanation that he wasn’t looking to infringe their intellectual copyright but rather was using the word peloton in its general sense.

In March, Peloton was sued for $150m over its use of songs in workout videos. The lawsuit is being brought by members of the National Music Publishers' Association, which says that Peloton has licensed with some parties in the music publishing industry but not all and is therefore a ‘wilful infringer’ of copyrights.