It’s been 17 months since Amazon agreed to buy iRobot for $1.7 billion. The next year and a half has moved at a glacial pace as the deal has moved forward. Analysts had expected the retail giant’s purchase of the home robot pioneer to face good regulatory scrutiny, though few expected the process to take so long.
The final obstacle to the deal is the European Commission, which has set a deadline of February 14 to reach a final decision. According to a new report, the EU regulator is set to vote against the takeover, citing the deal’s anti-competitive nature. Last week, Amazon missed a deadline to submit concessions to the European Commission.
The Wall Street Journal notes that Amazon was informed of the Commission’s intentions at a recent meeting. The deal has already cleared a number of regulatory hurdles, including its UK counterpart.
Since announcing the deal, Amazon has insisted it will not negatively impact the robot vacuum market, while assuring regulators it will not prioritize iRobot products over competition through its massive retail presence.
The extended review period has tested iRobot’s endurance. In July, Amazon announced it was lowering its asking price from $61 to $51.75 per share. The news comes as the Roomba maker raised $200 million in debt to keep things moving at the company while it waits for the deal to close. If the acquisition is ultimately completed, this debt will be transferred to the new parent company.
On the day the original deal was announced, iRobot cut its workforce by 10% — about 140 people — as part of a restructuring. The company laid off another 85 people in February. iRobot’s share price also continues to slide from the delays. As of this writing, share prices have fallen below $20 – a third of where they were when the deal was announced.
