Amazon.com has got the go-ahead from the UK competition regulator to complete the US$1.7bn acquisition of robotic vacuum cleaner maker iRobot.
In what is becoming a more difficult environment for tech companies to expand due to fears of market dominance, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) concluded that the deal poses no UK concerns.
"We're pleased with the UK Competition and Markets Authority's decision and are committed to supporting regulatory bodies in their work," a spokesperson for Amazon said.
Amazon still has to get clearance from the European Union and the US Federal Trade Commission, though iRobot boss Colin Angle said the UK green light was a “significant milestone”.
Shares in US-listed iRobot rose by 12% in premarket trade, while Amazon's was flat.
The CMA launched a "Phase 1" probe into the deal to examine how it would affect the smart-home devices market, especially how Roomba would interact with Amazon's Alexa voice assistant and other smart devices.