IRBT iRobot Corporation

By Dean Seal

Shares of iRobot sank on a report that Europe's competition regulator intends to block Amazon.com's $1.7 billion acquisition of the Roomba maker.

The stock fell 32% to $15.83 in post-market trading. Shares had already fallen to a 10-year low of $23.62 at the close Thursday. Amazon shares meanwhile were about flat with where they closed the market.

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed sources, reported after the bell that Amazon representatives met with officials from the European Commission on Thursday to discuss the deal and were told that it would likely be rejected.

Last week, Amazon missed a deadline to offer remedies to the European Union for the acquisition following concerns from the bloc about the deal stifling competition in the market for robot vacuum cleaners.

Write to Dean Seal at dean.seal@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 18, 2024 17:56 ET (22:56 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2024 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.