Roomba maker iRobot warns of “substantial doubt” over its ability to continue operating, after Amazon abandoned a $1B+ takeover in January 2024; IRBT drops 35%+
IRobot Corp., the consumer robotics company that Amazon.com Inc. once planned to buy for more than $1 billion …
After Amazon ended its acquisition, iRobot plans to lay off 31% of its staff, or ~350 people, and says chair and CEO Colin Angle will step down; IRBT drops 15%+
- Amazon and iRobot mutually agreed to call off their planned acquisition, writing that there was “no path” to regulatory approval and sending iRobot shares down 15%.
Sources: the European Union's competition watchdog intends to block Amazon's $1.7B bid to purchase iRobot; IRBT drops ~40% after hours
Wall Street Journal :
The European Commission says Amazon's $1.4B iRobot acquisition may restrict competition; Amazon plans to work to address its concerns; IRBT drops ~18%
On 6 July 2023, the Commission opened an in-depth investigation … Jay Peters / The Verge : Amazon's $1.7 billion deal to buy iRobot is running into some objections Elizabeth Montalbano / Computerworld...
The UK CMA clears Amazon's proposed $1.7B iRobot deal, saying acquiring the robot vacuum maker would have “no impact on competition in the UK”
So yeah, no competition impact indeed. Tweets: @cmagovuk : We have cleared Amazon's $1.7bn purchase of iRobot. Our full text decision on why we cleared the merger will be published in due course. Find...
iRobot and the Frankenstein Complex
When will American's learn to stop worrying and love robots? That question must be echoing inside consumer robotics company iRobot (IRBT). — The Burlington, Mass., company went public nearly two ye...