Online sales giant Amazon said on Monday that it would abandon its purchase of iRobot, the company that sells Roomba robot vacuum cleaners, because it could not be sure of obtaining approval from the European Commission, which risks being restricted of the competition saw the operation.
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“We are disappointed that Amazon cannot complete the acquisition of iRobot,” David Zapolsky, a principal manager of the group, said in the press release.
“Mergers and acquisitions like this help companies like iRobot better position themselves in the global market,” he added.
“The end of the agreement [d’acquisition] “It's disappointing, but iRobot is now looking to the future and the desire to develop intelligent robots and innovations that make life better,” company founder Colin Angle is also quoted as saying.
The markets reacted violently to the announcement: the iRobot title lost 15.27% to $14.46 at the opening of the stock market on Wall Street. However, the impact was minimal for Amazon, which remained almost stable at $159.13 (+0.01%).
In early July, the Commission announced that it would open an investigation to determine whether the acquisition would allow Amazon to “restrict competition” and “strengthen its position as a provider of online marketplaces.”
“Amazon is both an online marketplace and a retailer. “We fear that by taking over iRobot, Amazon will exploit this dual role to prevent iRobot’s competitors from accessing the market,” said Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for Competition.
iRobot makes robot vacuum cleaners and also sells them on Amazon's online marketplace.
The purchase of the Roomba autonomous vacuum cleaners, announced in August 2022, was aimed at expanding its ambitions in artificial intelligence and smart homes.
The EU's announcement came after the UK competition watchdog approved the takeover in June 2023.