The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched an investigation into Amazon’s £1.4 billion acquisition of Roomba maker iRobot, marking the second time in two days that authorities have raised competition concerns about the tech giant.
Amazon agreed to acquire American robotics company iRobot — best known for producing the Roomba — in August 2022 for $1.7 billion (£1.4 billion) in cash.
At the time, Amazon Devices senior vice president Dave Limp said the two companies would work together “in ways that make customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable”.
The monopolies watchdog will look into whether the deal will result in a “substantial lessening of competition within any market or markets in the United Kingdom for goods or services”.
Telecoms watchdog Ofcom said it would refer Amazon’s cloud computing arm, alongside Microsoft, to the CMA yesterday for making it too difficult for customers to switch cloud provider.
Ofcom director Fergal Farragher said he had “uncovered some concerning practices, including by some of the biggest tech firms in the world.
“High barriers to switching are already harming competition in what is a fast-growing market. We think more in-depth scrutiny is needed.”
The CMA is currently taking comments on the Amazon-iRobot merger. It did not specify an end date for the consultation period.
