iRobot falls amid UK decision to block Microsoft's $69B Activision deal
Justin Sullivan
iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT), which Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) agreed to buy for $1.7 billion in August, dropped 4.6% amid a decision by the UK's antitrust regulator to challenge Microsoft's (MSFT) planned purchase of Activision (ATVI).
iRobot fell as Activision (ATVI) dropped 11% amid the UK competition authority's decision to block the $69 billion sale to Microsoft.
The UK Competition and Markets Authority announced the commencement of a Phase 1 probe into Amazonâs (AMZN) planned buyout of robot-vacuum maker iRobot (IRBT) last Thursday. The initiation of the investigation follows an invitation to comment opened on April 6. The CMA has a deadline of June 16 to decide if it will move the review into a more in-depth Phase 2 probe. 
Amazon (AMZN) previously told Seeking Alpha that it is âworking cooperatively with the relevant regulators in their review of the merger.â
The transaction is also under scrutiny in the US and it's been reported that FTC may be preparing a lawsuit to block the deal. The European Union is also likely to start a formal investigation, the FT reported in February.
iRobot (IRBT) short interest is 17%.
Amazon (AMZN) agreed to acquire consumer robot company iRobot (IRBT) for $61/share in an all-cash transaction in August.
Earlier VMware (VMW) falls amid UK block of Activision/Microsoft deal.
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