EU looking at self-preferencing in its probe of Amazon's iRobot takeover - report
Justin Sullivan
Europe's antitrust regulator is said to be evaluating whether Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) may favor iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) robot vacuum cleaners over rival brands in its probe of the planned acquisition of iRobot.
The European Commission is looking to see if Amazon (AMZN) could partially foreclose rival robot cleaners by using its online store to self-preference the iRobot Roomba, according to a CTFN report from Friday, which cited a person familiar with the matter. The regulator is not looking at privacy issues as a potential area of concern. Amazon (AMZN) has until Thursday to submit remedies to try to allay any worries from the regulator.
The latest update comes after Reuters reported on Thursday that the European Commission is set to open an in-depth investigation into Amazon's (AMZN) $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot (IRBT), sending iRobot shares down 8.3%. Amazon is unlikely to offer remedies during the EC antitrust preliminary review of the deal, according to the report.
The EC is scheduled to finish its initial review of the deal on July 6. News of a potential in-depth EC probe into the deal surprised some investors after the UK's antitrust regulator approved the transaction earlier this month. 
iRobot (IRBT) received a second request from the Federal Trade Commission in September to do a more in-depth review of the Amazon (AMZN) deal. Amazon earlier this month confirmed it filed substantial compliance with the FTC's second request.
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