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Amazon’s iRobot deal could be blocked by European Union


It’s been 17 months since Amazon agreed to buy iRobot for $1.7 billion. The subsequent year and a half has unfolded at a glacial pace, as the deal has

Analysts anticipated that the retail giant’s purchase of the home robot pioneer would face a good bit of regulatory scrutiny, though few expected the process to drag on quite this long. Since announcing the deal, Amazon has insisted that ir won’t adversely impact the robot vacuum market, while assuring regulators that it will not prioritize iRobot products over the competition through its massive retail presence. The news arrived as the Roomba maker raised $200 million in debt, in order to keep things moving at the company while waiting for the deal to close.

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