Amazon surprises this August 5 by announcing the signing of the agreement for the acquisition of iRobot, a company founded in 2002 specialized in innovative cleaning products, including the popular Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners, in a cash transaction valued at 1,700 million dollars, equivalent to about 1,666 million euros, including iRobot’s net debt, according to the e-commerce giant in a statement.
In the deal, which will have to go through regulatory approvals to be completed, Amazon is offering $61 per share, which is a 22% premium to the value of each share.
Mastering the smart home
Upon completion of the deal, he will continue to be the CEO of iRobot, which will continue to operate independently. This acquisition comes two weeks after the $3.9 billion acquisition of One Medical, a specialist primary care company, by which the company hopes to reinvent primary care through the use of technology.
At the moment it is unknown if there are plans from Amazon for the integration of iRobot products with its ecosystem of products and services, something that should not sound unreasonable, because at the beginning of the year, iRobot launched its own operating system of the same name, powered by Artificial Intelligence and intended for its robotic products in order to be able to differentiate them from the competition through additional software-driven features.
The less curious is the fact that Amazon also has the rival to Roomba since last year. It’s his Astro smart home robot, which retails for about $999.
For Dave Limp, Senior Vice President of Amazon Devices:
For many years, the iRobot team has proven its ability to reinvent the way people clean with products that are incredibly convenient and ingenious, from cleaning when and where customers want while avoiding common household obstacles, to automatically emptying the collection container. Customers love iRobot products, and I’m excited to work with the iRobot team to invent ways to make customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable.
For Colin Angle, President and CEO of iRobot:
Amazon shares our passion for creating thoughtful innovations that empower people to do more at home, and I can’t think of a better place for our team to continue our mission. I am very excited to be part of Amazon and to see what we can build together for customers in the years to come.
More information: Amazon
