Amazon on Friday announced it has agreed to acquire the vacuum cleaner maker iRobot for approximately $1.7 billion, scooping up another company to add to its collection of smart home appliances amid broader concerns about the company�s market power.

iRobot sells its products worldwide and is most famous for the circular-shaped Roomba vacuum, which would join voice assistant Alexa, the Astro robot and Ring security cameras in the list of smart home features offered by the Seattle-based e-commerce and tech giant.

Amazon said it will acquire iRobot for $61 per share in an all-cash transaction that will include iRobot�s net debt. The company has total current debt of approximately $332.1 million as of July 2. The deal is subject to approval by shareholders and regulators. Upon completion, iRobot�s CEO, Colin Angle, will remain in his position.

Also on Friday, iRobot reported its quarterly results. Revenue plunged 30% on order reductions and delays, and the company announced it was laying off 10% of its workforce.

iRobot shares rose 19% in morning trading. Amazon�s were down 1.4%.

Founded in 1990 by a trio of Massachusetts Institute of Technology roboticists, including Angle, iRobot�s early ventures led to rovers that could perform military and disaster-relief tasks in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The profits from defense contracts allowed iRobot to experiment with a variety of other robots, producing some duds and one huge commercial success: the first Roomba, introduced in 2002, which pioneered the market for automated vacuum cleaners.

The company spun off its defense robotics division in 2016 to become almost exclusively a seller of vacuums and some other home robots, such as the Braava robotic mop. It planned to launch a robotic lawn mower in 2020 but backed off, citing problems tied to the pandemic.

The purchase of iRobot is Amazon�s fourth-largest acquisition, led by its $13.7 billion deal to buy Whole Foods in 2017.

The deal comes as anti-monopoly advocates continue to raise concerns about Amazon�s increasing dominance. Last month, Amazon said it would buy the primary care provider One Medical in a deal valued roughly at $3.9 billion, a move that expanded its reach further into health care.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who heads the Senate Judiciary antitrust panel, has urged the the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the acquisition, in the mold of other critics who�ve called on regulators to block the purchase over concerns about the company�s past conduct and potential implications for consumers� health data.� Regulators also have discretion to challenge Amazon�s $8.5 billion buyout of Hollywood studio MGM, which was completed earlier this year.

(AP)