Coronavirus Economic Impact: NBCUniversal Sells Half Its Stake In Peloton

As companies everywhere work to tighten their belts amidst the recent economic downturn, NBCUniversal has moved to sell half of its stake in exercise-cycle maker Peloton Interactive.

According to an SEC filing, the media giant made around $178 million from the sale, or $34.21 per share for 5.2 million shares. The company, a subsidiary of Comcast (CMCSA), still retains 5.14 million shares, currently valued at a little over $31 each as of Tuesday morning.

Despite NBCUniversal’s decision to sell a huge chunk of its stake in the company, Peloton is one of the few stocks on the market that have benefited from the lockdowns in place to fight coronavirus. With consumers by-and-large stuck at home, the company’s luxury fitness bikes have become a valuable commodity as more people exercise from home.

Peloton's flagship product is a stationary bike priced at over $2,200 that has many modern enhancements. The company’s devices feature touchscreens and internet connectivity, and they allow users to subscribe to virtual fitness classes. NBCUniversal invested in the company early on, snapping up shares during its Series E and F rounds of fundraising in 2017 and 2018.

Following a shaky IPO in September, Peloton became embroiled in controversy in November when a holiday ad received intense criticism online for sexist undertones. In the commercial, a husband buys his wife a Peloton bike for Christmas, prompting the wife to record a video diary explaining how much the product has changed her. Following the outcry, the company’s stock faltered, costing it around $1.5 billion in value.

Prior to the coronavirus economic downturn, NBCUniversal sold off its entire stake in Snap Inc., which operates the popular social media app, Snapchat, for about $500 million. The company has also recently acquired the London-based media conglomerate Sky and in July will be launching Peacock, a premium streaming service to compete with Netflix and HBO Max.

Comcast in late March raised $4 billion in debt amid the ongoing economic downturn.