UK clears Amazon’s $1.7 billion deal for Roomba-maker iRobot

Britain’s competition regulator on Friday cleared Amazon.com Inc’s (AMZN.O) planned $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot Corp (IRBT.O), maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had concluded that the deal would not lead to competition concerns in the UK.

“We’re pleased with the UK Competition and Markets Authority’s decision and are committed to supporting regulatory bodies in their work,” a spokesperson for Amazon said.

“We look forward to similar decisions from other regulators soon.”

In April, the CMA had launched a “Phase 1” probe into the deal which was announced in August last year as Amazon sought to expand its stable of smart-home devices, which include the Alexa voice assistant, smart thermostats, security devices, wall mounted smart displays and a canine-like robot called Astro.

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