Alexa, Echo, Smart Plug, and Ring Doorbells are some of the devices that have put Amazon on the smart home map and established it as a key player in the market. Now, the e-commerce giant is expanding its smart home arsenal with the inclusion of iRobot, which gave us the hugely popular robot vacuum cleaner, Roomba.
This has been announced through a definitive agreement agreed upon by the companies, wherein Amazon will acquire the company in an all-cash deal of nearly $1.7 billion, including iRobot’s net debt.
This translated to $61 per iRobot share, valuing iRobot at a premium of 22% from its last closing price of $49.99. The deal is yet to be set in stone, however, and is subject to customary closing conditions, which includes the approval by iRobot’s shareholders and getting the green light by the regulators. Once the deal is sealed, Colin Angle will remain as CEO of iRobot.
Amazon did not elaborate on how it intends to integrate iRobot into its own business.
“Over many years, the iRobot team has proven its ability to reinvent how people clean with products that are incredibly practical and inventive—from cleaning when and where customers want while avoiding common obstacles in the home, to automatically emptying the collection bin,” said Dave Limp, Senior Vice President, Amazon Devices.
“Customers love iRobot products—and I’m excited to work with the iRobot team to invent in ways that make customers’ lives easier and more enjoyable,” he added.
It will be interesting to see how Amazon integrates iRobot into its business and achieves its goal of delivering a smarter home to all.
iRobot will be a worthy tool in its arsenal in this pursuit, especially with its own venture into smart products with Roomba. The popular robotic vacuum cleaner has already completed two decades in the market, and the company sold over 30 million units of Roomba as of 2020.
Apart from the robot vacuum cleaner, iRobot has made advancements in cleaning, mapping and navigation in its pursuit of developing robots and smart home devices for years, which is likely to be leveraged by Amazon. iRobot even launched an AI-powered platform last year for its robotic vacuums last year.
“Since we started iRobot, our team has been on a mission to create innovative, practical products that make customers’ lives easier, leading to inventions like the Roomba and iRobot OS,” said Colin Angle, chairman and CEO of iRobot.
“Amazon shares our passion for building thoughtful innovations that empower people to do more at home, and I cannot think of a better place for our team to continue our mission. I’m hugely excited to be a part of Amazon and to see what we can build together for customers in the years ahead,” he added.
