Roomba company plunges on the stock market: deal with Amazon at risk due to EU opposition

The agreement between the two companies is from August 2022. Now, however, there is a real risk that it could blow up, because regulators (primarily European ones) are ready to get in the way. The story between Amazon and the giant of cleaning robots, iRobot, risks ending in the worst possible way, therefore. And the stock of the Bedford (Massachusetts) company that produces the famous Roomba, plunges on the stock exchange, losing more than 37% (after -14% yesterday, 18 January).

A small step back: as we said, the agreement between Amazon and iRobot is from August 2022. The two companies signed a $1.4 billion deal. And the eCommerce giant's idea was clear: to enrich its portfolio of smart devices, which includes the voice assistant Alexa, thermostats, security devices and displays.

A year and a half later, however, the regulators have turned the lights on this deal. And during Thursday's meeting at the European Commission, Amazon was apparently informed that the deal will be rejected. The argument is still that of competition: for the EU, in fact, this acquisition could strengthen Amazon's dominance. And apparently the Federal Trade Commission is also investigating the same thing (an indiscretion, the latter, which had already caused iRobot's share price to plummet yesterday). Regulators fear that the acquisition of smaller rivals could lead to a few companies gaining access to large amounts of customer data and controlling the market. iRobot's shares have fallen 53% since the deal was announced.

A decision, that of the EU, which, if confirmed, would be the second regulatory block to tech transactions within a few weeks. In December, in fact, Adobe pulled out of the $20 billion deal for design software maker Figma, citing 'the absence of a clear path' for antitrust approvals in Europe and the UK.