Amazon faces UK antitrust probe over $1.7 billion iRobot acquisition

British antitrust regulators have began investigating Amazon’s buy of robotic vacuum maker iRobot, including additional scrutiny to the $1.7 billion deal.

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The Competition and Markets Authority stated Thursday that it is contemplating whether or not the deal will end in a “substantial lessening of competition” inside the United Kingdom. In an preliminary step, the U.Ok. watchdog invited feedback on the deal from “any interested party.”

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The acquisition is already going through a assessment within the U.S. by the Federal Trade Commission amid worries about Amazon’s rising market energy. Consumer teams had voiced considerations after the deal was introduced final 12 months that it will additional the e-commerce big’s dominance within the sensible house market.

Amazon stated it’s “working cooperatively with the relevant regulators in their review of the merger.”

Bedford, Massachusetts-based iRobot, which makes the favored Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners, stated it “continues to work cooperatively with both the U.S. FTC and other regulatory agencies in their review of the Amazon-iRobot merger.”