Amazon Gets UK CMA Clearance for $1.7 Billion Roomba-Maker iRobot Acquisition

Britain’s competition regulator on Friday cleared Amazon’s planned $1.7 billion (roughly Rs. 13,900 crore) acquisition of iRobot, maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had concluded that the deal would not lead to competition concerns in the UK.

“We’re pleased with the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s decision and are committed to supporting regulatory bodies in their work,” a spokesperson for Amazon said.

“We look forward to similar decisions from other regulators soon.”

Meanwhile, iRobot did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

In April, the CMA had launched a “Phase 1” probe into the deal which was announced in August last year as Amazon sought to expand its stable of smart-home devices, which include the Alexa voice assistant, smart thermostats, security devices, wall mounted smart displays and a canine-like robot called Astro.

Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are wary of Big Tech acquiring smaller rivals, especially those with access to big volumes of user data, and tend to demand remedies in return for approving such deals.

EU antitrust regulators will decide by July 6 whether to clear the deal, while the US Federal Trade Commission is also examining the acquisition.

© Thomson Reuters 2023

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