A vacuuming Roomba model robot is displayed at iRobot headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts
Scott Eells | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Amazon‘s planned $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot, the maker of Roomba vacuums, has been greenlit by Britain’s competition watchdog.
The Competition and Markets Authority said it determined the deal wouldn’t end in “a considerable lessening of competition” within the U.K. The CMA opened its probe into the proposed purchase in April.
iRobot’s stock surged 21% on news of the CMA’s approval. Amazon shares closed down 1%.
An Amazon spokesperson told CNBC in an announcement: “We’re pleased with the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s decision and are committed to supporting regulatory bodies of their work. We stay up for similar decisions from other regulators soon.”
Amazon announced last yr it could acquire iRobot for $1.7 billion, as a part of a move to deepen its presence within the smart home. However the deal remains to be under review by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, in addition to European Union antitrust regulators, who opened a probe earlier this month.
The CMA said it present in its review that iRobot’s market position within the U.K. is modest and that it faces significant competition from several rivals. It also determined the deal wouldn’t limit rival smart home platforms’ ability to compete and that there was no clear incentive for Amazon to favor iRobot’s products on its online store.
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