United Kingdom: Issued CMA ruling approving the acquisition of iRobot by Amazon

On 16 June 2023, the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) issued its ruling in the investigation into Amazon's proposed acquisition of iRobot, approving the merger. In its investigation, CMA assessed whether the acquisition would lead to a "substantial lessening of competition" in the UK market. The CMA noted that the acquisition wouldn't negatively impact competition, noting that iRobot, which offers vacuum cleaners, has a modest position in the market and already has a significant number of competitors, and the acquisition of iRobot would not create disadvantages to Amazon's competitor smart home platforms. Furthermore, the CMA stated that Amazon, as an e-commerce platform, could disadvantage other providers, but it would not have such incentives based on the potential loss of revenue from sales and advertising.