The UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched a phase-1 investigation into Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN)'s proposed US$1.7bn (£1.4bn) acquisition of iRobot Corporation, the maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner.
Amazon’s acquisition of the group is already under review by the US Federal Trade Commission amid a heightened environment of scrutiny for big-ticket tech deals.
Amazon and Microsoft are also under investigation in the UK over anti-competitive behaviour in the cloud-computing sector, while the CMA continues to investigate Microsoft’s planned US$69bn acquisition of video game rival Activision Blizzard.
The US e-commerce giant told Reuters it “was working cooperatively with the relevant regulators in their review of the merger.
An iRobot spokesperson said the firm continues to cooperate with US and UK regulators.
The CMA has until June 16 to make its decision on whether the Amazon-iRobot deal will reduce competition in the UK.