Benzinga | May 4, 2021 06:58PM EDT

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 (NYSE:IPOD) and Social Capital Hedosophia Holdings Corp VI (NYSE: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 (NASDAQ: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.