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Gagnier Communications works for Blackwells Capital as it calls on Peloton’s board to fire CEO John Foley and put the exercise machine company on the auction block.
The activist firm, which owns less than five percent of Peloton, says Foley “must be held accountable for his repeated failures to effectively lead Peloton.”
Blackwells claims Foley misled investors about the need for additional capital weeks before issuing $1B in equity, failed to implement effective internal controls over financial reporting, vacillated on pricing strategy, hired his wife as a key executive and committed to expensive office space in New York “because he enjoys living there and owns a newly-acquired $55M vacation home nearby.”
The fund believes Peloton squandered an opportunity “to accelerate consumer adoption of its category-defining products and drive performance of the business and value of shareholders” during the pandemic.
Peloton went public on Sept. 26, 2019, pricing shares at $29 each.
They hit an all-time high of $171.09 on Jan. 14, 2021 and now trade at $26.98.
Gagnier Communications, Dan Gagnier and Jeffrey Mathews represent Blackwells.
Edelman handles Viking Holdings, the river and ocean luxury cruise line that plans to raise $1B via an IPO priced in the $21 to $25 per share range.
Teneo is handling the initial public offering of CVC Capital Partners, one of Europe’s largest private equity firms with nearly $200B in assets under management.
Brunswick Group represents Endeavor Group Holdings as it agrees to go private via its acquisition by Silver Lake technology investment firm, which is handled by Edelman Smithfield.
Tod Donhauser, a nine-year veteran of Edelman, has joined H/Advisors Abernathy as managing director and head of its San Francisco office.
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