On Thursday, three sources with knowledge of the situation stated that Amazon’s (AMZN.O.) acquisition of iRobot (IRBT.O.), a producer of robot vacuums with a value of $1.4 billion, is expected to get unconditional antitrust approval from the European Union.
Concerned about gathering vast amounts of data by a few corporations and prominent players pushing their dominance into new industries, antitrust authorities worldwide have increased their examination of large technology companies that acquire smaller competitors.
In July, the European Commission, which serves as the competition watchdog for the European Union, warned Amazon that the purchase might restrict competition in the robot vacuum cleaner industry and strengthen the U.S. company’s dominating position as a supplier of online marketplaces.
The Commission, which is required to decide on the transaction by February 14th, chose not to comment. A request for comment sent to Amazon was not immediately met with a response.
Following the completion of the transaction that was announced in August, the online retail giant Amazon in the United States will be able to add the Roomba robot vacuum from iRobot to its portfolio of intelligent products, which already includes the Alexa voice assistant, smart thermostats, security devices, and wall-mounted intelligent displays.
After conducting a first investigation, the UK antitrust agency gets unequivocal approval for the transaction.