Amazon Drops $1.4B Deal for Robot Vacuum Maker Amid EU Dissent

Amazon abandoned its $1.4 billion acquisition of robot vacuum company iRobot due to EU opposition, the companies said Monday. Amazon will pay Roomba-maker iRobot a $94 million termination fee, they added. IRobot said it will lay off 350 employees, or 31% of its workforce, as a result of the decision. It will focus on profitability and new initiatives. IRobot CEO Colin Angle will leave, and Chief Legal Officer Glen Weinstein will serve in the interim, the company said. The deal had “no path to regulatory approval in the European Union,” the two firms said. “Undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles discourage entrepreneurs, who should be able to see acquisition as one path to success, and that hurts both consumers and competition -- the very things that regulators say they're trying to protect,” Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky said.