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Amazon’s $1.7 billion (roughly Rs. 13,500 crore) acquisition of robotic vacuum cleaner maker iRobot faces a full-scale EU antitrust investigation, folks aware of the matter stated, weeks after the US on-line retail large received UK approval for the deal.
Amazon introduced the takeover in August final yr to develop its portfolio of good units, which embrace the Alexa voice assistant, good thermostats, safety units and wall-mounted good shows. IRobot made its first Roomba robotic vacuum in 2002.
IRobot shares fell about 10 p.c, their largest proportion drop since February final yr, whereas Amazon shares trimmed good points after the Reuters story was printed.
The European Fee is scheduled to launch a four-month investigation following the top of its preliminary evaluate of the deal on July 6, the folks stated.
Amazon is unlikely to supply treatments throughout this preliminary section, one of many folks stated. It has a ultimate shot within the subsequent few days at convincing the EU competitors watchdog that the deal is pro-competitive, though the chances in opposition to it are excessive.
The Fee and Amazon declined to remark. Amazon has beforehand stated the vacuum cleaner market may be very aggressive, with plenty of Chinese language gamers.
The UK competitors company in its resolution final week backed the argument and stated it didn’t see Amazon utilizing its market energy to drawback rival robotic vacuum cleaner makers.
It blocked Microsoft’s Activision deal whereas the Fee cleared the deal conditional on Microsoft’s licensing offers with rival streaming platforms.
Antitrust enforcers worldwide have grow to be extra cautious of Large Tech buying smaller rivals, involved concerning the accumulation of troves of knowledge by just a few firms, and massive firms leveraging their dominance into newer markets.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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