A vacuuming Roomba mannequin robotic is displayed at iRobot headquarters in Bedford, Massachusetts
Scott Eells | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The European Commission mentioned Thursday that it is opened a complete and “in-depth” investigation into Amazon‘s deliberate $1.7 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot.
The government arm of the EU mentioned it was involved the transaction would possibly prohibit competitors available in the market for robotic vacuum cleaners, and would additional strengthen Amazon’s place as a web-based market supplier.
The Commission, like its U.S. antitrust counterpart, has the ability to dam the proposed acquisition. Shares of iRobot have been little modified on the information.
Among the Commission’s considerations are that Amazon would have the ability to engineer search ends in favor of iRobot, leaving rivals like Shark and Dyson at a drawback in advertising and marketing to Amazon’s thousands and thousands of customers.
Concerns have been additionally raised about Amazon’s use of iRobot consumer knowledge, which the Commission mentioned would possibly present the corporate “with an important advantage” over rivals and “raise barriers to entry and expansion” for present or future rivals.
“The Commission will now carry out an in-depth investigation into the effects of the proposed transaction to determine whether its initial competition concerns are confirmed,” the assertion mentioned.
Amazon introduced the iRobot deal final yr as a part of an effort to broaden its presence within the sensible house. The Competition and Markets Authority, Britain’s antitrust watchdog, cleared the deal in June. It’s nonetheless beneath assessment by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which has requested info from iRobot a number of occasions on the deal, based on regulatory filings.
FTC chair Lina Khan penned a widely-cited paper on Amazon’s probably anticompetitive habits whereas at Yale Law School, and Amazon has sought to have Khan recused from any FTC probes into the e-commerce firm.
“We continue to work through the process with the European Commission and are focused on addressing its questions and any identified concerns at this stage,” an Amazon spokesperson advised CNBC in an announcement.
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Source: www.cnbc.com”