Allbirds has revised its proposals for an initial public offering, and iFIT Health & Fitness has postponed its plans to go public, citing “adverse market conditions.” Meanwhile, an acquisitive American maker of camp stove, Solo Brands, has filed an application for an IPO with the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
Like Allbirds and iFIT, a few other companies in our sector filed a preliminary S-1 application for an IPO with the SEC over the last few weeks, but only On Holdings has consummated its offering so far. One of them, Authentic Brands Group, has not yet made the move, probably because it has yet to consummate the acquisition of Reebok.
The retreat of iFIT follows the 8.3 percent drop in the stock market quotations of many sporting goods brands in the course of the third quarter that we have already reported about in SGI Europe. In particular, it follows a 17 percent slide in the valuation of iFIT’s major competitor in the connected fitness market, Peloton, since iFIT filed its application with the SEC at the end of August, indicating afterwards that it was seeking a valuation of about $6.7 billion.
Peloton has lost 47 percent of its value since the start of this year, due to a series of technical problems and the growing competition in the home fitness market. However, its stock price increased by 5 percent after iFIT announced its pull-back.
Allbirds, the California-based B Corp producer of sustainable sneakers, filed its application for an IPO with the SEC at about the same time as iFIT. In an unusual move, it announced that it was planning to go for the first “Sustainable Public Offering,” or SPO, pledging to prioritize all stakeholders, including employees and customers, and the environment, in addition to its shareholders.
Allbirds is apparently still on track to go public on Nasdaq, but in filing an amended S-1 application, it has changed some of the language, removing almost half of the references to its SPO framework, according to the Financial Times. The company has faced some criticism lately for its sustainability claims. In June, it was sued in the federal court for the Southern District of New York on charges of breach of warranty and fraud, among other charges.
Meanwhile, Solo Brands of Southlake, Texas has added itself to the list of companies that wish to go public in the U.S., reportedly seeking a valuation of more than $1 billion. The company has reported $210 million in pro forma sales for last year, with only $133 million coming from its Solo Stove business. The balance comes from its acquisition last May of a 60 percent stake in Oru Kayak, followed by the takeover of a paddleboard maker, International Surf Ventures, in August, capped by the purchase of Chubbies, a producer of swim trunks and other men’s shorts.
