"The goal, of course, is to avoid the abuses that can happen in monopolies and with the goal of protecting consumer choice and protecting innovation. What happened was that iRobot and Amazon came together for the expressed purpose of creating more innovation, more consumer choice, at a time when iRobot's trajectory was honestly different from where it was several years earlier."
"In the EU, we had a 12% market share [but it was] declining where the number one competitor was only three years old in the market, which is nearly the definition of a vibrant and dynamic marketplace. And in the United States, iRobot's market share was higher, but it was declining and there were multiple growing competitors bringing outside innovation into the marketplace."
iRobot filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after 35 years and more than 50 million robots sold. Amazon canceled a planned $1.7 billion acquisition following an 18-month investigation by the FTC and European regulators. Regulatory opposition to the acquisition was described as "avoidable" and a "tragedy for consumers." iRobot's market share was declining in both the EU (about 12%) and the U.S., while numerous competitors were entering the market. The prolonged regulatory review stretched far beyond an expected few weeks and contributed to financial collapse. The outcome sent a chilling message to entrepreneurs and prompted plans to launch a new consumer robotics venture.
Read at TechCrunch
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