Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/16\/uk-approves-amazon-irobot-acquisition\/<\/a><\/br>
\nAmazon\u2019s $1.7B iRobot acquisition greenlighted by UK antitrust regulator<\/br>
\n2023-06-17 21:54:54<\/br><\/p>\n

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The U.K.\u2019s antitrust regulator has given the go-ahead<\/a> to Amazon\u2019s proposed billion-dollar iRobot<\/a> acquisition, concluding that the deal \u201cwould not lead to competition concerns in the U.K.\u201d<\/p>\n

Amazon first revealed plans to buy robot vacuum maker iRobot for $1.7 billion last August<\/a>, though the megabucks deal was always likely to draw scrutiny from regulators. The European Commission (EC) will decide by July 6<\/a> whether to clear the deal (with or without remedies) or launch a full-scale investigation, while the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in the U.S. is also currently mulling<\/a> an official investigation into the deal.<\/p>\n

The FTC did recently greenlight <\/a>Amazon\u2019s $3.9 billion One Medical acquisition<\/a>, though it is reportedly pushing to stop<\/a> Microsoft\u2019s planned $68.7 billion Activision acquisition.<\/p>\n

In short, it\u2019s difficult to know whether Amazon\u2019s iRobot purchase will survive regulators elsewhere, but today\u2019s news from the U.K. \u2014 which recently blocked<\/a> the Microsoft \/ Activision deal (subject to appeal) \u2014 could be a harbinger of what\u2019s to come elsewhere, given that regulators often co-operate and share notes in such scenarios. But nothing is certain here.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe merging parties will no doubt take comfort from the CMA clearance, although they will also know that the different regulatory agencies do not always operate in complete lock-step with one another,\u201d Alex Haffner, competition partner at U.K.-based law firm Fladgate said in a statement issued to TechCrunch.<\/p>\n

Modest market share<\/h2>\n

Founded out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) some three decades ago, iRobot is best known for its Roomba-branded autonomous vacuum cleaners, though it has expanded into related products including those capable of mopping floors<\/a>. For Amazon, which has been seeking deeper inroads<\/a> into the smart home in addition to its own dabblings in home robotics<\/a>, it wasn\u2019t a major surprise that iRobot did fall on its radar.<\/p>\n

The U.K.\u2019s\u00a0Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) first revealed it was scrutinizing the deal back in April<\/a>, but it has now found that Amazon buying iRobot would not harm competition in the U.K. This, in large part according to the CMA, is because iRobot\u2019s U.K. market position is \u201cmodest\u201d and it already has several rivals. But on top of that, concerns that Amazon might use its omnipresent online marketplace to \u201cdisadvantage\u201d iRobot rivals by demoting their presence were unfounded, as Amazon would \u201clack the incentive to do so\u201d as the U.K. robot vacuum cleaner market is small.<\/p>\n

If nothing else, the U.K.\u2019s decision today may go some way toward addressing criticism levelled at the CMA in recent months over the way it\u2019s blocking merger and acquisition (M&A) activity, particularly involving U.S. companies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe clearance decision is a useful riposte to allegations, which have taken on particular prominence recently in the light of Microsoft\/Activision acquisition, that the CMA is anti-tech or unduly stifling economic growth in the sector,\u201d Haffner said. \u201cIn reality though, the \u2018fundamentals\u2019 of this deal means that the CMA\u2019s assessment was far less controversial than in other tech-based cases given in particular iRobot\u2019s low market-share.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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Science, Tech, Technology<\/br>
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\nSource:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/16\/uk-approves-amazon-irobot-acquisition\/<\/a><\/br><\/br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Source:https:\/\/techcrunch.com\/2023\/06\/16\/uk-approves-amazon-irobot-acquisition\/ Amazon\u2019s $1.7B iRobot acquisition greenlighted by UK antitrust regulator 2023-06-17 21:54:54 The U.K.\u2019s antitrust regulator has given the go-ahead to Amazon\u2019s proposed billion-dollar iRobot acquisition, concluding that the deal \u201cwould not lead to competition concerns in the U.K.\u201d Amazon first revealed plans to buy robot vacuum maker iRobot for $1.7 billion last August, though […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":35361,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[26,17,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35360","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science","category-tech","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\n