Amazon To Secure Unconditional EU Appproval For iRobot Deal By CIOTechOutlook Team

Amazon To Secure Unconditional EU Appproval For iRobot Deal

CIOTechOutlook Team | Thursday, 23 November 2023, 13:00 IST

Amazon is expected to receive unconditional EU antitrust approval for its $1.4 billion acquisition of iRobot, according to three people familiar with the subject.

Antitrust enforcers around the world have stepped up scrutiny of Big Tech acquiring smaller rivals, concerned about the accumulation of troves of data by a few companies and big players leveraging their dominance into new markets, as per reuter.

In July, the European Commission, the EU's competition authority, warned Amazon that the transaction might decrease competition in robot vacuum cleaners and strengthen the US company's dominant position as an online marketplace supplier.

The Commission, which is expected to make a decision on the transaction by February 14. The August agreement would add iRobot's Roomba robot vacuum to Amazon's portfolio of smart products, which also includes the Alexa voice assistant, smart thermostats, security devices, and wall-mounted smart displays.

Following a preliminary examination, the UK antitrust watchdog approved the acquisition unconditionally.

Amazon.com, Inc. is a global technology corporation based in the United States that specializes in e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economic and cultural forces in the world" and is widely considered as one of the world's most valuable brands. Along with Alphabet (parent company of Google), Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, it is considered one of the Big Five American technological corporations.