Amazon on Friday announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for approximately $1.7 billion.
FILE - A Roomba 980 vacuum cleaning robot is presented during a presentation in Tokyo, Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2015. Amazon on Friday, Aug. 5, 2022, announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for approximately $1.66 billion. The company sells its robots worldwide and is most famous for the circular-shaped Roomba vacuum.
The move is part of Amazon’s bid to own part of the home space through services and accelerate its growth beyond retail, said Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail. A slew of home-cleaning robots adds to the company's tech arsenal, making it more involved in consumers' lives beyond static things like voice control.
On Friday, iRobot reported its quarterly results. Revenue plunged 30% primarily on order reductions and delays, and the company announced it was laying off 10% of its workforce.Amazon said it will acquire iRobot for $61 per share in an all-cash transaction that will include iRobot’s net debt. The company has total current debt of approximately $332.1 million as of July 2. The deal is subject to approval by shareholders and regulators.
“The last thing American and the world needs is Amazon vacuuming up even more of our personal information," said Robert Weissman, president of the progressive consumer rights advocacy group Public Citizen. Last month, Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who heads the Senate Judiciary antitrust panel, urged the the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the One Medical acquisition, in the mold of other critics who’ve called on regulators to block the purchase over concerns about Amazon's past conduct and potential implications for consumers’ health data. Regulators also have discretion to challenge Amazon’s $8.5 billion buyout of Hollywood studio MGM, which was completed earlier this year.
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