Recently, according to foreign media reports, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has begun to review Amazon’s acquisition of iRobot, a US mopping robot manufacturer, to determine whether the transaction violates antitrust laws.

According to the report, the scope of the FTC’s review of iRobot is wide, including both healthy competition and whether the transaction will illegally increase Amazon’s share in the online equipment market and the overall retail market. Additionally, the FTC is investigating how the acquisition would add to Amazon’s growing portfolio of smart devices.

It is understood that iRobot is an American consumer robot company founded in 1990, mainly focusing on sweeping robots and smart home devices. In 2002, the company launched its first sweeping robot.

In early August this year, Amazon announced the acquisition of iRobot at an all-cash price of $61 per share, with a transaction value of approximately $1.7 billion.

On the same day that Amazon announced its acquisition of iRobot, iRobot released its financial results for the second quarter ending July 2, 2022. The company reported an operating loss of $63.9 million and a net loss of $1.60 per share on second-quarter revenue of $255 million.