(Reuters) -The European Union is set to investigate Amazon.com Inc’s $1.7 billion purchase of iRobot Corp, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.
EU regulators have sent the e-commerce giant a series of detailed questions over the proposed transaction, indicating that they are gearing up for a formal probe, the report said.
The antitrust watchdogs are likely to launch a formal probe over how iRobot’s autonomous vacuum cleaner Roomba operates, particularly its ability to take pictures as it moves around a home, the report added.
The potential move will follow the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s scrutiny of the deal over whether the transaction would increase Amazon’s market power.
EU’s executive arm, the European Commission, did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment, while iRobot declined to comment.
“We’re working cooperatively with the relevant regulators in their review of the merger,” an Amazon spokesperson told Reuters.
(Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam and Chavi Mehta in Bengaluru, additional reporting by Akash Sriram in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
