Amazon has called off its proposed acquisition of iRobot, with the ecommerce giant blaming “undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles” as the deal faced competition scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic.
The companies said in joint statement that they “entered into a mutual agreement to terminate their announced acquisition agreement”.
David Zapolsky, Amazon’s general counsel, said: “We’re disappointed that Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot could not proceed.”
Colin Angle, the founder of iRobot, which designs and builds consumer robots, also said the termination was “disappointing”.
Amazon announced in 2022 that it would buy iRobot, based in Bedford, Massachusetts, for 1.7 billion dollars (£1.3 billion), but the value of the deal fell 15% after the company incurred new debt.
The European Commission informed Amazon last year of its “preliminary view” that the acquisition of the maker of the circular-shaped Roomba vacuum would be anti-competitive.
British regulators cleared the purchase back in June, but it still faced scrutiny in the US by the Federal Trade Commission.
