Jul 07, 2023 12:30:00

The European Commission begins investigation as Amazon's acquisition of iRobot, the developer of the robot vacuum cleaner 'Rumba', may violate antitrust laws

In August 2022, Amazon

announced that it would acquire iRobot , known as the developer of the robot vacuum cleaner `` Roomba '', for about $ 1.7 billion (240 billion yen). Regarding this acquisition, it turned out that the European Commission , the EU's policy enforcement agency, has embarked on a full-scale investigation on suspicion of violating the antitrust law.

Mergers: Commission opens in-depth investigation
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/ip_23_3702

Amazon's iRobot deal in EU antitrust crosshairs | Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/markets/deals/amazons-irobot-deal-eu-antitrust-crosshairs-2023-07-06/

Amazon's iRobot Roomba acquisition under formal EU investigation - The Verge
https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/6/23628636/eu-regulators-amazon-irobot-roomba-acquisition-investigation

Shortly after Amazon's acquisition of iRobot was announced, some pundits warned that the acquisition would give Amazon monopoly control. Amazon not only develops major EC sites and cloud services, but also sells consumer devices such as smart home brand Ring , home monitoring robot Astro , and smart assistant Echo as a retailer. In this field, iRobot is a competitor of Amazon, and the acquisition may strengthen its market power.

In addition, iRobot's products, including Rumba, collect various information about users, and it is said that Big Tech's Amazon has business advantages in obtaining these data. As a result, regulators have been watching closely whether the acquisition violates antitrust laws.

Experts warn that Amazon's acquisition of Rumba developer ``may be the most dangerous and threatening acquisition''-GIGAZINE

In April 2023, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which is equivalent to Japan's Fair Trade Commission, launched an investigation into Amazon's acquisition of iRobot. The acquisition was approved.

UK competition authority approves acquisition of Amazon's iRobot 'Rumba' manufacturing | Reuters
https://jp.reuters.com/article/amazon-com-irobot-antitrust-britain-idJPKBN2Y20NI

However, on July 6, local time, the European Commission announced that it will launch a detailed investigation to evaluate Amazon's acquisition of iRobot under the EU Merger Regulation (EUMR). 'We are concerned that this transaction will limit Amazon's competition in the robot vacuum market and strengthen its position as an online marketplace provider,' the European Commission said in a statement.

The European Commission points out that Amazon provides an online marketplace for retailers to advertise and sell their products, as well as acting as a retailer of their own products. A preliminary study found that the iRobot acquisition could help Amazon limit competition in manufacturing and supplying robotic vacuum cleaners and strengthen its dominant position in online marketplaces and other data-related markets. .

'We continue to work with the European Commission and are focused at this stage on addressing questions and identified concerns,' an Amazon spokesperson said in a statement. iRobot offers practical and inventive products, and Amazon provides companies like iRobot with the resources to accelerate innovation while investing in key capabilities. We believe that we can lower prices for consumers while doing so,' he said.

This announcement is just that the European Commission will start a full-scale investigation, and there is still the possibility that Amazon's acquisition of iRobot will be approved. A decision on whether to approve or block the acquisition will be made by November 15, 2023.