A vacuuming Roomba mannequin robotic is displayed at iRobot headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts
Scott Eells | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
Amazon‘s deliberate $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot, the maker of Roomba vacuums, has been greenlit by Britain’s competitors watchdog.
The Competitors and Markets Authority mentioned it decided the deal wouldn’t end in “a considerable lessening of competitors” within the U.Okay. The CMA opened its probe into the proposed buy in April.
iRobot’s inventory climbed greater than 19% in premarket buying and selling on information of the CMA’s approval. Amazon shares have been flat.
An Amazon spokesperson advised CNBC in an announcement: “We’re happy with the UK Competitors and Markets Authority’s resolution and are dedicated to supporting regulatory our bodies of their work. We stay up for comparable selections from different regulators quickly.”
Amazon introduced final yr it might purchase iRobot for $1.7 billion, as a part of a transfer to deepen its presence within the sensible residence. However the deal remains to be beneath evaluate by the U.S. Federal Commerce Fee, in addition to European Union antitrust regulators, who opened a probe earlier this month.
The CMA mentioned it present in its evaluate that iRobot’s market place within the U.Okay. is modest and that it faces important competitors from a number of rivals. It additionally decided the deal wouldn’t restrict rival sensible residence platforms’ means to compete and that there was no clear incentive for Amazon to favor iRobot’s merchandise on its on-line retailer.
WATCH: Amazon’s sensible residence dominance and the way it might develop with iRobot acquisition
