Shares of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) inches down in pre trading session on Thursday as the British antitrust officials have begun looking into Amazon’s $1.7 billion acquisition of robot vacuum manufacturer iRobot.
According to a statement released on Thursday, the Competition and Markets Authority is debating whether the merger will “substantially decrease competition” in the UK. The U.K. watchdog first requested feedback on the agreement from “any interested party.”
The Federal Trade Commission is already investigating the acquisition in the United States due to concerns over Amazon’s expanding market dominance. During the deal’s announcement last year, consumer advocacy organizations expressed worry that it would strengthen the e-commerce giant’s position as the market leader for smart homes.
In its evaluation of the deal, Amazon stated it is “cooperating with the applicable regulators.”
The popular Roomba robotic vacuum cleaners are made by Bedford, Massachusetts-based iRobot, which also stated that it “continues to engage diligently with both the U.S. FTC and other regulatory agencies in their evaluation of the Amazon-iRobot transaction.”
Amazon (AMZN) Unsteady Economic Climate
An element of Amazon.com Inc.’s (NASDAQ: AMZN) compensation plan, employee stock awards, will be reduced as the e-commerce behemoth navigates an unsteady economic climate. An Amazon spokeswoman stated in an email that “We took the decision to lower RSU (restricted stock units) awards in the final outlook year by a tiny amount (other years are not impacted)” without mentioning the time frame of the final outlook year.
The revelation follows Amazon’s announcement of a second round of huge layoffs a few weeks prior, adding to a wave of job losses that have rocked the technology industry as a challenging economy compels businesses to become leaner. The proposed adjustment to the company’s pay structure was initially revealed by Business Insider, which claimed that Amazon will review 2025 compensation in the first quarter of 2019 in order to “prepare for stock fluctuation.”
After considering the impact of an uncertain economy on its budget for pay, the firm was considering changing its compensation plan in the future to be more evenly distributed between base cash compensation and equity, the representative added. After 50% decline in 2022, Amazon’s share price has increased this year by more than 20%.
