Melbourne based distributor IXL Home could end up losing a major brand after Amazon moved to buy out iRobot Corporation the maker of the Roomba vacuum system.
IXL Home has sold the brand for several years in Australia but could lose it if the $2.39 billion dollar bid is successful.
The move to buy the robotic vacuum Company is part of a push by the online trading giant to control more of ther internet-connected home devices and robotics market.
According to Bloomberg, Amazon will pay $88.31 a share in cash for the business that includes debt.
This represents a premium of 22% based on iRobot’s last closing price before the announcement.
Colin Angle will remain as chief executive officer of IRobot.
Some observers claim that what Amazon is attempting to acquire is a home mapping company with the iRobot vacuum cleaners similar to the Ecovacs robotic able to map an entire home.
Bloomberg claims that the real value resides in those robots’ ability to map your house. As ever with Amazon, it’s all about the data.
IRobot gives Amazon a household-name in home cleaning gadgets that may give it a leg up over its own designs.
IRobot saw sales increase over the pandemic, as families who were housebound sought shortcuts to keep their homes clean.
But like many pandemic-era darlings, iRobot has seen demand wane.
It reported second-quarter revenue of US$255.4 million on Saturday, short of analysts’ expectations for US $301 million.
Currently the business is battling JS Global Lifestyle Co. in a patent infringement case against its Shark Ninja vacuums and hybrid vacuum-moppers.
IRobot portrays itself as an American success story with a “passion for innovation” that’s been undercut by Shark Ninja incorporating those inventions into its Chinese-made knockoffs.
Analysts claim that the SmartHouse market is clearly a priority for Amazon.
Its Echo smart speakers still outsell those from rivals Apple and Google, with an estimated 9.9 million units sold in the three months through March, according to the analysis firm Strategy Analytics. In Australia Google dominates the voice activation speaker market.
Back in 2018 Amazon paid US $1 billion deal for the video doorbell-maker Ring.
If the Amazon deal gets approved it’s tipped that iRobot products will be distributed via Amazon in Australia.
