iRobot ticks lower as tech watchdog urges U.K. to investigate Amazon deal
Justin Sullivan


iRobot (NASDAQ:IRBT) briefly ticked lower at least partly amid a report that a nonprofit tech watchdog group is urging the U.K.'s competition regulator to investigate the Roomba maker's $1.7 billion planned sale to Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Tech watchdog Foxglove Legal, which has also targeted Meta (META) and Palantir (PLTR), alleges that Amazon uses its power to take out rivals in household consumer products, according to a Forbes report, which cited a 14-page letter the group sent to the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority.

Amazon (AMZN) told Forbes in a statement that its âworking cooperatively with the relevant regulators in their review of the merger.â
The report comes after Amazon (AMZN) and iRobot (IRBT) received a second request to do a more in-depth review from the Federal Trade Commission in September. Last month Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as well as five other members of Congress urged the FTC to block the transaction.

Amazon (AMZN) agreed to acquire consumer robot company iRobot (IRBT) for $61/share in an all-cash transaction valued at ~$1.7B, including iRobot's net debt, in August.