US e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc.’s plans to acquire robot vacuum maker iRobot Corp. may encounter a hurdle with the European Commission’s competition officials, who are reportedly looking to block the deal.
People familiar with the matter said Amazon met with the European Commission to discuss the acquisition and was informed that the transaction would likely not receive approval.
The Seattle-based company has declined to comment on the matter, while a representative for the European Union’s (EU) executive body was not immediately available for a statement.
Competition Concerns Over Amazon-iRobot Deal
Amazon announced in August 2022 that it would purchase iRobot for $61 per share in an all-cash deal worth $1.7 billion, as it aims to have the Roomba vacuum maker on its suite of smart devices.
The Alexa voice assistant, smart thermostats, security gadgets, and wall-mounted smart displays are such devices the e-commerce group currently has in its portfolio. blockage
In July 2023, the European Commission launched an investigation into the proposed agreement, where it found some competition concerns.
The bloc’s top antitrust watchdog said the transaction may prevent rivals of the Roomba vacuum maker from competing on Amazon’s platform, arguing that the online retailer could deny or reduce the access of iRobot’s rivals to its marketplace.
To influence the competition, Amazon may remove rivals of the firm from its website or lower their products’ visibility in search results or other areas, according to the European Commission.
Furthermore, the company offered no compromise to the regulator until the January 10 deadline to progress the acquisition.
President of a Washington-based tech lobbying group, Matt Schruers, said blocking Amazon’s deal with iRobot would be illogical if the aim was to increase competition in the home robotics sector, adding that stopping the purchase could leave consumers with fewer choices.
The deal remained subject to review by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC), while the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) determined in June that the arrangement would not significantly diminish competition in Britain.
The European Commission is set to decide on the deal on February 14.
