The prospect of Amazon's $1.4 billion acquisition of robot maker iRobot has been cast into doubt as the company refuses to make concessions to the European Union. The European Commission said on its website today that Amazon missed a Wednesday deadline to submit remedies. This means that the uncertainty of the transaction has further increased.
The European Commission warned Amazon in July last year that the deal could reduce competition in the sweeping robot market and further strengthen Amazon's dominance. To this end, the EU asked Amazon to make concessions to allay its concerns.
Goldman Sachs analysts have said that the acquisition may come to nothing unless the two companies can resolve a series of competition issues that the EU is concerned about, but this situation may weaken iRobot's competitiveness and position.
The European Commission will decide on February 14 whether to approve the deal. The deal received UK regulatory approval in June last year.
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