Amazon has bought iRobot for $1.7 billion.
The tech giant has signed an agreement to acquire the company behind the Roomba robot vacuum cleaner and will take on iRobot for $61 per share in an all-cash transaction.
Amazon said: “Since introducing the Roomba vacuum in 2002, iRobot has continued to delight customers with every product generation, saving customers valuable time previously spent on household chores.
“On Friday (05.082.22) Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) and iRobot (Nasdaq: IRBT) announced that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Amazon will acquire iRobot.
“iRobot has a history of making customers’ lives easier with innovative cleaning products for the home. iRobot has continued to innovate with every product generation, solving hard problems to help give customers valuable time back in their day…”
Meanwhile, iRobot explained that since their launch, they have been on a “mission” to make the lives of customers easier and selling the business to Amazon will help in continuing to fulfil that goal.
Colin Angle, chairperson and CEO of iRobot, said: “Since we started iRobot, our team has been on a mission to create innovative, practical products that make customers’ lives easier, leading to inventions like the Roomba and iRobot OS.
“Amazon shares our passion for building thoughtful innovations that empower people to do more at home, and I cannot think of a better place for our team to continue our mission. I’m hugely excited to be a part of Amazon and to see what we can build together for customers in the years ahead.”
Dave Limp, SVP of Amazon Devices, said: “Over many years, the iRobot team has proven its ability to reinvent how people clean with products that are incredibly practical and inventive – from cleaning when and where customers want while avoiding common obstacles in the home, to automatically emptying the collection bin.
“Customers love iRobot products – and I’m excited to work with the iRobot team to invent in ways that make customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable.”
BANG ShowBiz Tech