Rakuten on January 30
iRobot, the world's originator of sweeping robots, has recently encountered difficulties because Amazon's acquisition of irobot was blocked by the European Commission, the European Union's competition regulator, and the deal was terminated as high as $1.7 billion.
Amazon's proposed acquisition of irobot "could not obtain regulatory approval from the European Union," leaving the two companies unable to move forward with the deal, "to the loss of consumers, competition and innovation," the joint statement said.
Amazon will pay iRobot a $94 million termination fee.
iRobot was founded in 1990 by a team from the Watson Artificial Intelligence Lab at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 2005, irobot became the first listed company in the field of household cleaning robots in the world.
Back in early August 2022, Amazon announced the $1.7 billion acquisition of irobot, and at the time, Amazon said, "Over the years, the irobot team has proven its ability to reinvent the way people clean with very practical and innovative products — from cleaning when and where customers want while avoiding obstacles common in their homes, to automatically emptying collection bins." ”
The transaction was terminated. iRobot also said it would lay off nearly 350 employees, representing 31% of the vacuum's total workforce as of Dec. 31, 2023.
iRobot announced the resignation of its CEO, Colin Angle, and Glen Weinstein, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, taking over as interim CEO.
iRobot also said it would return to its original focus – floor care innovation – and suspend all unrelated work, including air purification, robotic lawn mowing, and education.
Affected by the termination of the transaction, irobot's stock price has continued recently, and as of now, the company's market capitalization is about 4$7.1 billion.
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