IRobot stock plunged on Friday on news that antitrust regulators in Europe plan to block Amazon.com's planned purchase of the Roomba vacuum cleaner maker.
The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday that the European Union's competition watchdog intends to block Amazon's $1.7 billion bid to buy iRobot. Competition officials from the European Commission, the bloc's executive body, have rejected the deal and now will submit their recommendation for formal approval from the commission's 27 top political leaders.
The commission is unlikely to overrule the recommendation, the Journal said. The government body has a Feb. 14 deadline for its final decision.
European regulators have expressed concern that Amazon's purchase of iRobot would restrict competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners.
IRobot Stock Tanks On Report
On the stock market today, iRobot stock tumbled 26.9% to close at 17.26. Meanwhile, Amazon stock rose 1.2% to 155.34.
Amazon announced its plan to buy iRobot in August 2022 for $61 per share in an all-cash transaction. The terms of the deal were modified in July 2023 so that Amazon would pay $51.75 per share in cash for iRobot.
IRobot stock hit an all-time high of 197.40 in January 2021. That was during the Covid pandemic when consumers splurged on home electronics.
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