Amazon has been acquiring companies like they were trading cards for years now, so it's not really much of a big deal for us that it's trying to buy iRobot, the company behind the Roomba, as well. However, European Union regulators believe that this may pose a problem.
EU Regulators' Objection
Amazon is prepared to pay $1.7 billion to acquire iRobot, and just when publications like Reuters say that the deal with be closed without a hitch, regulators step in to point out the potential harm that the deal can cause to the market.
According to a press release, Amazon has already been informed of the European Commission's preliminary view that the proposed acquisition may "restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners," as reported by The Verge.
The Commission had already launched an investigation back in July 2023, only for the deal to be cleared in June. Going further back, Amazon already announced its intentions to buy iRobot as early as August 2022.
Specifically, the European Commission says that once Amazon owns the company, it might "foreclose iRobot's rivals" as they have both the ability and the incentive to do so. The retail giant can either reduce the visibility of competing products or delist them entirely.
If Amazon wishes tom they can respond to the regulators' objections and request an oral hearing. Ultimately, the European Commission will make its decision by February 14th of next year, as mentioned in the report.
Amazon spokesperson Alexandra Miller said that they "continue to work through the process with the European Commission and are focused on addressing its questions and any identified concerns at this stage."
She also noted that iRobot, which has intense competition from other vacuum cleaner suppliers, offers practical and inventive products, adding that Amazon can offer the company resources to "accelerate innovation and invest in critical features while lowering prices for consumers."
Adobe's Acquisition is Also Under Investigation
The software giant is also being investigated by the Commission for its acquisition of Figma, which is a US global software company offering products for interactive product design. Similar to Amazon, regulators are also concerned about the reduction of competition in the market.
According to the press release, this could affect the rival interactive product design or other creative design software that is available. The investigation was officially started on August 7th this year. The Commission came to the conclusion that it would "significantly reduce competition in the global markets."
The effect may be seen in two aspects, such as the supply of interactive product design tools where Figma is among the leading providers. By merging the two companies, it could become a dominant competitor and result in the discontinuation of other tools like Adobe XD.
There's also the concern with the supply of vector editing tools and supply of raster editing tools. The Commission believes that taking Figma out of the market will strengthen Adobe's dominance in markets, especially with its products like Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop.
