iRobot shares close down 39 after report Amazon deal set

iRobot shares close down 39% after report Amazon deal set to receive EU approval

  • Shares of iRobot, the maker of Roomba vacuum cleaners, closed down around 39% on Friday after a report said the European Union would approve Amazon’s takeover of the company.
  • Portal said on Thursday morning, citing three sources, that the deal would “receive unconditional EU antitrust approval.”
  • The deal is still being reviewed by the US Federal Trade Commission.

Roomba from iRobot.

Source: iRobot

Shares of iRobot, the maker of Roomba vacuum cleaners, closed down about 39% on Friday after a report said the European Union would approve Amazon’s $1.7 billion takeover of the company.

Portal said on Thursday morning that the deal “will receive unconditional EU antitrust approval,” citing three sources familiar with the matter. The European Commission is expected to decide on the deal by February 14.

European Commission officials did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

The deal is still being reviewed by the US Federal Trade Commission. Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority said in June that the deal would not result in a “significant reduction in competition” in the UK

Amazon shares remained unchanged.

Amazon announced its intention to acquire iRobot in August 2022 for $61 per share in an all-cash deal.

The acquisition represents Amazon’s fourth-largest deal, following its $13.7 billion purchase of grocery chain Whole Foods in 2017, its $8.45 billion purchase of film studio MGM in 2021 and the $3.9 billion acquisition of boutique primary care provider One Medical announced last July.

—CNBC’s Annie Palmer contributed to this report.

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