Brussels, BELGIUM – The Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA Europe) issued the following statement in response to news reports that Amazon has decided to abandon its plan to acquire iRobot.
The following can be attributed to Senior Vice President and Head of CCIA Europe, Daniel Friedlaender:
“The size or profitability of a company should not be used as an excuse by EU regulators to argue it cannot innovate in a completely different sector. In this case, for example, there are simply not valid reasons to prevent a firm from acquiring a struggling producer of domestic appliances.”
“If Europe adopts a merger policy driven by political goals that only serves industrial policy, rather than a competitive market, this will ultimately lead to less competition and less innovation in the EU. It’s bad for consumers, choice, and European industry.”
“This sends the wrong message to both global investors and EU start-ups: as soon as you reach a certain size, you can forget about future mergers and acquisitions. Europe cannot and should not create an environment where companies are not allowed to invest, in or acquire, companies in related sectors. Neither competition law, nor the Digital Markets Act, should be used to artificially limit or restrict healthy markets or legitimate acquisitions.”