US lawmaker probes FTC work with Europe to block Amazon iRobot merger (updated)

iRobot

01/05/2024 20:11

(Adds no comment from FTC, more details)
    By David Shepardson
       WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) - The chair of the House
Oversight Committee said on Wednesday he is investigating the
Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) work with the European
Commission in the collapse of Amazon.com's  AMZN.O  plan to
acquire iRobot Corp  IRBT.O  in a $1.4 billion deal.
    Amazon and robot vacuum maker iRobot in January dropped 
their plans to tie-up in the face of opposition from European
and U.S. antitrust regulators. 
    "The FTC’s anticompetitive actions threaten to harm
America’s global position in the personal robotics market, while
ceding market share of personal robotics to foreign entities
such as China," Republican Representative James Comer said in a
letter to the FTC asking for documents shared by the FTC with
the European Commission. "The FTC’s actions indicate to American
businesses that the FTC will work outside of U.S. antitrust law
by using the EC to realize its desired outcomes."
    The FTC declined to comment. Amazon and iRobot did not
immediately comment.
        After the deal collapsed, iRobot in January announced a
significant restructuring plan to reduce costs and said it would
cut about 31% of its workforce, or 350 jobs. The company also
said founder Colin Angle had stepped down as its CEO.
  
       Amazon said in January the deal had no path to regulatory
approval in the European Union.
  
        EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in January said
its in-depth investigation preliminarily showed "the acquisition
of iRobot would have enabled Amazon to foreclose iRobot's rivals
by restricting or degrading access to Amazon stores."
  
        Separately, the FTC was poised to reject Amazon's deal
before the companies announced they were abandoning it, a source
told Reuters in January.
  
        Amazon announced the deal in August 2022. The world's
largest online retailer, which already owns Alexa and Ring, was
pushing to expand its stable of smart home devices as well as
expanding the e-commerce giant's virtual healthcare.
  




 (Reporting by David Shepardson; editing by Diane Craft)
 ((David.Shepardson@thomsonreuters.com; 2028988324;))