Amazon’s $1.7 billion iRobot deal cleared by the U.K.

Amazon.com’s proposed $1.7 billion deal to buy robot vacuum firm iRobot was given the all-clear by the U.K.’s antitrust agency, sending shares in the Bedford, Massachusetts, firm soaring.

The Competition and Markets Authority said the deal would not lead to competition concerns in the U.K. market after an initial review, according to a statement Friday.

Shares of Amazon fell slightly at the open as the deal still faces an in-depth review by the Federal Trade Commission in the U.S. and a review by the European Commission in Brussels. The E.U. will decide on whether to start a phase 2 probe by July 6.

The iRobot deal, announced in August, has raised competition and privacy worries from tech advocacy groups as the e-commerce giant seeks more internet-connected devices in people’s homes.

IRobot shares rose as much as 20% to at market open, while Amazon fell 1%.

The agency said that iRobot’s position in supplying robot vacuum cleaners in the U.K. is modest and already has significant rivals. It also found it would not disadvantage Amazon’s rival smart home platforms and the firm would have no incentive to undermine its rivals on its retail platforms.

“It’s important to ensure tech firms that already benefit from powerful positions aren’t able to use those positions to undermine competitors at the expense of U.K. consumers and businesses,” said Colin Raftery, senior director of mergers at the CMA. “After a thorough investigation, we’re satisfied that the deal would have no impact on competition in the U.K.”

The approval will be a relief to the tech giant given how the CMA has taken a more aggressive line with Big Tech mergers of late. It decided to block Microsoft’s $69 billion Activision Blizzard deal in April and put a stop to Meta Platforms’ purchase of Giphy last year.

“The clearance decision is a useful riposte to allegations, which have taken on particular prominence recently in the light of Microsoft, Activision acquisition, that the CMA is anti-tech or unduly stifling economic growth in the sector,” said Alex Haffner, a competition lawyer at U.K. law firm Fladgate.

Seattle-based Amazon is also facing separate scrutiny from U.K. regulators including a cloud probe into the AWS business spearheaded by U.K. telecoms regulator Ofcom. and another CMA investigation into Amazon Marketplace.

“The CMA’s decision to clear Amazon’s takeover of iRobot, without even conducting an in-depth investigation, is a mistake,” said Max Von Thun, a Brussels-based director at the Open Markets Institute which often takes a stance against big tech mergers. “Far more serious concerns are raised by the sensitive data Amazon would acquire with this takeover, which inexplicably do not appear to have featured in the CMA’s review.”

An Amazon spokesperson said the firm was pleased with the CMA’s decision.