Amazon’s investors can chill with M&A freeze

iRobot

29/01/2024 16:59

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions
expressed are her own.)
    By Jennifer Saba
       NEW YORK, Jan 29 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The
e-commerce giant scrapped a $1.4 bln deal for Roomba maker
iRobot after regulatory opposition that suggests future deals,
no matter how small, will be seen as problematic. Given Amazon’s
track record with past tie-ups like Whole Foods, though, some
restraint could be welcome.    
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    CONTEXT NEWS 
Amazon.com and iRobot mutually agreed on Jan. 29 to terminate
their planned merger. The deal faced pushback from European
antitrust authorities and was still awaiting U.S. clearance. The
e-commerce giant announced the $1.4 billion deal to purchase the
maker of robot vacuum Roomba in August 2022.
    Separately, iRobot said it plans to cut 350 jobs and
that Chair and Chief Executive Officer Colin Angle is stepping
down. Glen Weinstein, iRobot's executive vice president and
chief legal officer, has been appointed Interim CEO. Andrew
Miller, lead independent director, has been appointed chair.

 (Editing by Jonathan Guilford and Aditya Sriwatsav)
 ((For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can
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jennifer.saba@thomsonreuters.com; Reuters Messaging:
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