By Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
European Union regulators have sent a statement of objections to Amazon about the company’s proposed $1.7 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot. In a press release, the European Commission says that it “has informed Amazon of its preliminary view that its proposed acquisition of iRobot may restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners.”
Amazon announced in August 2022 that it planned to acquire iRobot. The proposed acquisition has since come under regulatory scrutiny, with the European Commission revealing an investigation in July 2023. British regulators looked at the deal but cleared it in June. The Federal Trade Commission requested information about the deal from Amazon and iRobot in September 2022.
The European…