(Reuters) – Britain’s competition regulator said on Tuesday it has launched a “Phase 1” probe into Amazon.com Inc’s planned $1.7 billion acquisition of iRobot Corp, which makes the Roomba vacuum cleaner.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it had until June 16 to make its decision on whether the deal will reduce competition in the UK.
Amazon and iRobot did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
The deal – announced in August last year to expanded Amazon’s stable of smart home devices – is already being reviewed by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza)
