Amazon on Friday announced it has agreed to acquire the vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for approximately $1.7 billion, scooping up another company to add to its collection of smart home appliances amid broader concerns about its market power.
iRobot sells its products worldwide and is most famous for the circular-shaped Roomba vacuum, which would join voice assistant Alexa, the Astro robot and Ring security cameras and others in the list of smart home features offered by the Seattle-based e-commerce and tech giant.
The company hasn't had much success with household robots, but the iRobot acquisition and the company's strong market reputation provide a “massive foothold in the consumer robot market” that could help Amazon replicate the success of its Echo line of smart speakers, said Lian Jye Su, a robotics industry analyst for ABI Research.
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. Upon completion, iRobot's CEO, Colin Angle, will remain in his position.
“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.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Amazon to buy vacuum maker iRobot for roughly $1.7BThe deal is subject to approval by shareholders and regulators.
Read more »
Canopy Growth swings to loss on $1.7B pot impairment - BNN BloombergCanopy Growth Corp. said it took a non-cash impairment representing all of the goodwill value of its cannabis operations in the latest quarter.
Read more »
Canopy Growth swings to loss on $1.7B pot impairment - BNN BloombergCanopy Growth Corp. said it took a non-cash impairment representing all of the goodwill value of its cannabis operations in the latest quarter.
Read more »
Amazon to buy vacuum maker iRobot for $1.66BThe deal is subject to approval by shareholders and regulators.
Read more »
MicroStrategy's Saylor gives up CEO title to focus on Bitcoin after $1 billion loss
Read more »
St. John’s woman running errands goes home with $1-million Lotto 6/49 win | SaltWireST. JOHN'S, N.L. — Helena Bragg of St. John’s was on a routine shopping trip to pick up some wine and flowers when she found out she was a new ...
Read more »