Amazon and Roomba iRobot maker cancel $1.4 billion deal

Amazon and Roomba iRobot agreed to terminate their pending acquisition after facing opposition from the EU antitrust regulators. Essentially, the two companies announced the acquisition in August 2022, under which Amazon would have acquired iRobot. The acquisition received backlash from the EU antitrust regulators claiming it would have infringed iRobot rivals on its online marketplace, especially in France, Germany, Italy, and Spain, Reuters reports.

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also raised concerns when the acquisition was announced and initiated an investigation against Amazon over its online market dominance. In addition, Amazon has been facing an FTC lawsuit since September 2023 for allegedly violating federal and state antitrust law and for having monopolistic control.

Why does it matter?

This cancelation is not only the first time that Amazon has been prevented from acquiring another company but also one of the several major tech acquisitions that have fallen apart in recent years. Thus, the EU and US antitrust regulators are seen to have a significant influence in the e-commerce field, as Abode canceled its $20 billion deal with Figma in 2023, and Nvidia canceled its $40 billion Arm deal. Despite the cancelation of Amazon’s deal with Roomba iRobot, Amazon will not have to pay $94 million to iRobot, whose shares are down more than 18% in pre-market trading.