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shares in Roomba manufacturer iRobot It fell by more than a third on Monday after its only potential savior backed out of talks to buy the company.
Massachusetts-based robotics firm struggles to find an acquirer by January 2024 Amazon backs out of $1.7 billion acquisition plan after European competition regulators indicated they would block the deal,
company announced in march There was now “substantial doubt” about its ability to remain in business as a “going concern” – a mandatory legal disclosure for any company approaching the edge of bankruptcy.
And last week, executives acknowledged that talks had again failed when their last remaining potential buyer offered a price “significantly lower” than its current share price.
“While this review process is active and ongoing, last week the last remaining counterparty for a potential sale transaction withdrew from the process after a lengthy period of exclusive negotiations, and we are not currently in advanced negotiations with any alternative counterparty for a potential sale or strategic transaction,” iRobot. Said in a regulatory filing last Wednesday,
“Thus, there is no assurance that our review of strategic alternatives will result in any transaction or outcome.”
It said the company’s “financial condition continues to deteriorate”, and if it does not find a buyer it “may be unable to secure the additional funding needed to continue our operations.”
Founded in 1990, iRobot initially made its money by building military robots used for bomb disposal and searching for survivors in the debris of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
But most people know it for the creation of the world’s first successful autonomous home vacuum cleaner, the Roomba, which was initially released in 2002 and has been sold ever since. units over 40m,
But by 2023, iRobot will be forced to take a $200 million loan from Washington-D.C.-based private equity firm Carlyle Group after suffering. intense competition from cheap Chinese models and Struggling to diversify its product line,
Things got worse in November, when EU regulators objected to Amazon’s purchase over fears it would unfairly harm European competitors who also sold their products through Amazon’s marketplace.
Amazon has it has often been accused abusing its dual position as both a market operator and a seller of goods on the same market, and has Sued by US regulators for allegedly rigging rules in favor of its products,