Roomba Vacuum Maker Purchased By Amazon For $1.7 Billion

Amazon (AMZN) and iRobot (IRBT), the maker of the Roomba vacuum, announced that Amazon would purchase the consumer robotics company in a $1.7 billion deal, or $61 per share, on Friday.

The purchase includes iRobot's net debt. It still needs to face approval from iRobot shareholders and has regulatory hurdles it also needs to go through.

iRobot, founded in 1990 at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is the seller of the popular robotic Roomba vacuum cleaners. Amazon already makes similar products to that of iRobot. However, it is unclear what Amazon's plans are with the purchase of iRobot's technology.

Still, combining iRobot's technology with Amazon's smart home technology will give Amazon an advantage. This gives Amazon access to a lot of data about people's homes.

Dave Limp, senior vice president of Amazon Devices, pointed to iRobot's impressive ability to "reinvent how people clean" and "consumers love" for "iRobot products." Limp called iRobot's products "innovative" and "practical."

He also pointed to the valuable time that iRobot saves consumers when they do not have to worry about cleaning their homes.

"I'm excited to work with the iRobot team to invent in ways that make customers' lives easier and more enjoyable," he said.

With this acquisition, the company can better access floor plans with robot vacuum technology. That includes Amazon's already popular range of smart home products, including Alexa.

However, iRobot chairman and CEO, Colin Angle, will continue to run the company. The goal of iRobot, he says, is to "make customers' lives easier," he said. He believes that the acquisition will help accomplish that goal.

"Amazon shares our passion for building thoughtful innovations that empower people to do more at home. I cannot think of a better place for our team to continue our mission," he said of the acquisition.

The acquisition of iRobot is Amazon's fourth largest deal. Its purchase of Whole Foods in 2017 was the highest, valued at $13.7 billion.

The $8.45 billion purchase of the film studio MGM in 2021 sits in second. In July, the company purchased One Medical, a primary care provider, for $3.9 billion, becoming Amazon's third largest acquisition.

News of the sale caused iRobot stock to rise 18% in premarket trading. Amazon stock, meanwhile, went down about 0.5%. As of 1:20 pm ET,, iRobot stock sits at $59.50, up $9.61 or 19.23%. Meanwhile, Amazon's stock sits at $141.27, which is down $1.30 or 0.91%.