Amazon is expected to win unconditional EU antitrust approval for the $1.4 billion acquisition of the robot vacuum maker iRobot, as per people familiar with the situation.
European Commission Warns Amazon on Acquiring iRobot
Earlier this year, the European Commission gave a warning to Amazon stating that the acquisition could potentially reduce the competition within the vacuum cleaner industry. In August 2022, Amazon formally announced its plans to include iRobot's Roomba robot vacuum in the company's portfolio of smart devices.
However, the Commission decided to suspend the antitrust investigation in September as the regulators await the companies to provide the requested information.
"This procedure in merger investigations is activated if the parties fail to provide, in a timely fashion, an important piece of information that the Commission has requested from them," the Commission reminded.
Amazon, iRobot Share Common Passion for Innovation
When the agreement was announced, iRobot CEO Colin Angle cited that Amazon shares the company's passion for thoughtful innovations at home. "I cannot think of a better place for our team to continue our mission. I'm hugely excited to be a part of Amazon and to see what we can build together for customers in the years ahead," he added.
As of writing, Reuters reported that the UK antitrust agency had cleared the deal unconditionally upon preliminary review. However, the Commission still has until February 14 to finalize its decision.
Once the deal gets approved, iRobot's Roomba robot vacuum will officially join Amazon's impressive collection of smart home devices such as Alexa, security devices, and more.
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