Cheddar RSS

Roomba maker iRobot files for bankruptcy protection; will be taken private under restructuring


Listen Later

Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process.

IRobot, which became well known for its robotic vacuums, has struggled of late, dealing with increased competition, layoffs and a declining stock price. In 2022 Amazon announced that it had agreed to buy iRobot for about $1.7 billion, but that deal was called off last year. Amazon blamed “undue and disproportionate regulatory hurdles” after the European Union signaled its objection to the transaction.

Amazon said at the time that it would pay iRobot a previously agreed termination fee of $94 million and iRobot said that it would undergo a restructuring to help stabilize the company.

iRobot said Sunday that it is now being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea, or Shenzhen PICEA Robotics Co., Ltd., is iRobot’s primary contract manufacturer.. With facilities in China and Vietnam, Picea has built and sold more than 20 million robotic vacuum cleaners.

“The transaction will strengthen our financial position and will help deliver continuity for our consumers, customers, and partners,” iRobot CEO Gary Cohen said in a statement.

iRobot said it will continue to operate as normal during the Chapter 11 process and doesn’t expect any disruption to its app functionality, customer programs, global partners, supply chain relationships, or ongoing product support.

The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.

In premarket trading, iRobot shares slid nearly 70% to $1.31.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Cheddar RSSBy Cheddar


More shows like Cheddar RSS

View all
NPR News Now by NPR

NPR News Now

14,398 Listeners

The Excerpt by USA TODAY

The Excerpt

1,218 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

112,031 Listeners

Up First from NPR by NPR

Up First from NPR

56,537 Listeners

The NewsWorthy by Erica Mandy

The NewsWorthy

1,357 Listeners

9 to 5ish with theSkimm by theSkimm

9 to 5ish with theSkimm

1,868 Listeners

Start Here by ABC News

Start Here

6,440 Listeners

American Fever Dream by Betches Media

American Fever Dream

2,119 Listeners

Skimm This by theSkimm

Skimm This

3,619 Listeners

Fiction - Comedy Fiction by The Sunset Explorers

Fiction - Comedy Fiction

6,445 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,550 Listeners

BuzzFeed Daily by BuzzFeed & iHeartPodcasts

BuzzFeed Daily

574 Listeners

Consider This from NPR by NPR

Consider This from NPR

6,396 Listeners

Morning Announcements by Betches Media

Morning Announcements

1,486 Listeners

We Can Do Hard Things by Treat Media and Glennon Doyle

We Can Do Hard Things

41,538 Listeners