Amazon to buy Roomba maker iRobot for $1.7 billion

By Phil Nickinson August 5, 2022

Hot on the heels of its acquisition of a health care company, Amazon has announced its intention to purchase iRobot in an all-cash deal worth $1.7 billion. Amazon will pay $61 per share for the maker of the popular Roomba robot vacuums.

An iRobot Roomba 670 robot vacuum picks up dust on a hardwood floor. — Image used with permission by copyright holder

“We know that saving time matters, and chores take precious time that can be better spent doing something that customers love,” Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon Devices, said in a press release. “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. 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.”

Amazon said that iRobot CEO Colin Angle will remain in place if and when the deal closes.

“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,” Angle said in the press release. “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.”

The deal is the latest high-profile acquisition for Amazon, which scooped up primary health care organization One Medical in a $3.9 billion deal in July. It also acquired film studio MGM in an $8.45 billion deal that closed in May, and purchased consumer router company Eero for $97 million in February 2019. Before that, it gobbled up Ring in 2018 for over $1 billion and Whole Foods in 2017 for $13.4 billion.

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