Amazon.com Inc. has announced plans to acquire robot vacuum maker iRobot Corp. for USD 1.7 billion. The deal values iRobot at USD 61 per share on the open market.
The Nasdaq-listed shares of the robotics company ended Wednesday at USD 49.99. The popular Roomba series of robot vacuums is created by iRobot, a company based in Bedford, Massachusetts. Since the product line’s 2002 introduction, the company has sold over 40 million units.
The Roomba line of vacuum cleaners competes in a market with rival goods made by numerous other manufacturers, including Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. iRobot has disclosed its financial results for the second quarter along with the information that it has consented to be acquired by Amazon.