Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority has given the green light to Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot Corp, a manufacturer of Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners, in a $1.7 billion deal. This approval comes after the Authority’s thorough investigation, which concluded that the merger would not harm competition due to the presence of strong rivals in the market.
June 16 (UPI) — Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot Corp has been approved by Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority. The Authority’s investigation ensured that the $1.7 billion merger would not result in a substantial lessening of competition, as iRobot has several significant competitors in the market.
iRobot Corp is widely recognized for its Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners.
In April, the CMA initiated an investigation to evaluate the potential impact of the acquisition on competition within the United Kingdom’s markets for goods and services.
Following the public announcement of Amazon’s approval to acquire iRobot, shares of iRobot surged by 19% on Friday, indicating investor confidence in the deal.
In its summary report, the CMA explained the decision-making process behind its approval. The authority particularly assessed if the merged entity could disadvantage or limit access to iRobot for rival smart home platforms. Ultimately, it concluded that there would be no need for a Phase 2 investigation into potential harm to competition.
The CMA further explored the scenario where Amazon would have entered the robotic vacuum cleaner market independently, without the merger. It determined that sufficient remaining constraints would have ensured that the merger does not raise competition concerns.
Strong competition in the robotic vacuum cleaner industry played a crucial role in the CMA’s decision. It noted that iRobot holds a modest market position in the UK and faces significant competition from companies such as Ecovacs, Eufy, Roborock, Samsung, and Dyson, some of which have higher market shares than iRobot.
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