European Commission Objects To Amazon Deal Acquiring IRobot

The European Commission's statement on Amazon's acquisition of the iRobot (photo: dock. Amazon)

JAKARTA "Amazon's desire to acquire the iRobot is not going well." The reason is, the European Union Regulator (EU) announced that they objected to the acquisition proposal.

After conducting a series of investigations since July 6, the EU Commission assessed that the $1.7 billion acquisition could limit competition in the robotic dust suction market (RVC) in Europe.

"Amazon may have the ability and incentives to confiscate iRobot competitors by carrying out several confiscation strategies aimed at preventing competitors from selling RVC in Amazon's online market and or lowering their access to the market," the European Commission said in an official release on Monday, November 27.

Confiscation strategies for iRobot competitors can be carried out by removing other suction robots or reducing visibility in the Amazon market. This action can certainly harm other robot development companies.

The combined quantity will probably benefit more from RVC iRobot's additional sales compared to the losses from the sales of rivals iRobot and other related products (RVCs) on Amazon, they explained.

Although the European Commission has issued their objections through an official release, an investigation into this acquisition is still underway. The Commission will announce their final decision on February 14 next year.

Currently, the Commission will strengthen cooperation with other business competition authorities as long as an in-depth investigation is carried out. The Commission said they would continue the cooperation during the remaining in-depth investigation.