They have both opportunity and motive. EK is worried about the acquisition of iRobot – News

According to an official statement, the commissioners are concerned that Amazon “will use its dominant market position to limit access to its online store by rival robotic vacuum cleaner manufacturers.”

Ultimately, according to the EC, this step could have a significant impact on the entire market. The Commission specifically mentions France, Germany, Italy and Spain, as Amazon is already an important sales channel for robotic vacuum cleaners in these markets.

“It is evident that Amazon would have the ability and motive to restrict competitors through iRobot, using several restrictive strategies aimed at preventing competitors from selling robotic vacuum cleaners on Amazon’s online marketplace, or possibly impairing sellers’ access to its portal ,” reads the EC statement.

The Commission is therefore concerned that Amazon would become the exclusive seller of Roomba robot vacuum cleaners and that other sellers would be cut off. This applies not only to regular retail chains with electronics, but also to stores that sell goods through the Amazon marketplace.

The commissioners sent a statement of objections in connection with the latest statement detailing their concerns and position on the acquisition. So now it remains to be seen how Amazon will respond to the criticisms. If he wants to complete the entire transaction, he will probably not avoid concessions.

However, the EC did not specify what exactly they should look like. However, it could be, for example, a contract with large sellers on the European market, in which Amazon undertakes to continue supplying Roomba vacuum cleaners under the same conditions as before.

Amazon announced its plans for the acquisition as early as August last year, and the EC opened an investigation in February this year. In the aftermath, Amazon representatives said they were cooperating with commissioners as part of the investigation.

The fact that similar investigations by regulators often drag on for more than a year is unfortunately not unusual.

The entire transaction is also under scrutiny in the US, where the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has expressed concern about the connection. The business was also investigated by the British Antimonopoly Authority (CMA), which, however, approved it in June this year.

Regulators around the world are increasingly targeting acquisitions of large technology firms. The American Microsoft was also under the supervision of European, British and American authorities for more than a year. The American software giant announced its plans to buy the game publisher Activision Blizzard already last January, but the deal worth 69 billion dollars (CZK 1.5 trillion) was completed only in October of this year.

In order to achieve the desired result, Microsoft had to make a number of concessions. He concluded license agreements for the provision of games with other companies – for example, with Nvidia, the Ukrainian company Boosteroid or the Japanese company Ubitus.

The software giant also had to sell its streaming rights outside of Europe to rival Ubisoft Entertainment. The rights apply to all existing and future games released over the next 15 years, both in versions for classic computers and game consoles.

But thanks to the entire business, the American software giant became the owner of a number of well-known names in the gaming world – let’s mention at least Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Diablo, Candy Crush, Tony Hawk, Overwatch, Spyro, Hearthstone, Guitar Hero, Crash Bandicoot and StarCraft.