The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has begun a review of Amazon.com's $1.7 billion takeover of robot vacuum maker iRobot Corp to decide if the deal violates antitrust law, Politico reported on Friday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The U.S. anti-trust body’s iRobot review is wide-ranging and
would include both head-to-head competition and whether the deal would
illegally boost Amazon's market share in both the connected device market and
the retail market in general, the report added.
Amazon declined to comment, while iRobot and the FTC did not
immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment.
The e-commerce giant has steadily expanded its devices
lineup with more speakers showcasing its Alexa voice assistant and with home
security doorbells and cameras from Ring, which it acquired in 2018.
Amazon in August announced its all-cash deal of $61 per
share to acquire iRobot, maker of the robotic vacuum cleaner Roomba.
The world's largest online retailer is pushing to expand its
stable of smart home devices as well as expanding the e-commerce giant's
virtual healthcare and adding brick-and-mortar doctors' offices for the first
time.
The online retailer in July had agreed to buy primary care
provider One Medical.
One Medical on Friday said the U.S. anti-trust body had
sought more information from the company and Amazon about the primary care
provider's $3.49 billion acquisition by the online retailer. -Reuters