2023-04-06 07:24:47 ET
The UK's antitrust regulator said it's reviewing Amazon's ( NASDAQ: AMZN ) planned $1.7 billion purchase of iRobot ( NASDAQ: IRBT ).
The UK's Competition and Markets Authority is considering whether the transaction may result in the "substantial" lessening of competition within any market in the country for goods or services, the regulator said on its website on Thursday. The review its early stages, known as Phase 1, and the regulator didn't announce a specific timeline.
The UK review comes as regulators in the U.S. and Europe are also scrutinizing the combination. Politico reported last month that Federal Trade Commission's staff attorneys are leaning toward filing a lawsuit to block t he deal. A lawsuit to block the purchase of the Roomba maker could come in the next few months.
iRobot ( IRBT ) received a second request to do a more in-depth review from the FTC in September. In October Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) as well as five other members of Congress urged the FTC to block the transaction. In February the Financial Times reported that Europe's antitrust regulator is likely to start a formal probe into the iRobot ( IRBT ).
in November a nonprofit tech watchdog group urged the UK competition regulator to investigate the Roomba acquisition.
For further details see:
Amazon's planned iRobot acquisition investigated by UK antitrust regulatory