iRobot stock drops 33% after Roomba maker warns buyer search stalled

Shares of iRobot plunged 33% on Monday after the company warned its search for a buyer has hit a substantial roadblock and its financial condition remains dire.

The Roomba maker has been vying to sell itself since March, but last week, the only remaining potential buyer withdrew from the process following a “lengthy period of exclusive negotiations,” iRobot disclosed in a regulatory filing.

iRobot’s future has remained uncertain after Amazon abandoned its planned $1.7 billion acquisition of the company in January 2024, citing regulatory scrutiny.

Since then, iRobot has struggled to generate cash and pay off debts, and in March warned there’s “substantial doubt” about its ability to stay in business.

Amazon CEO Andy Jassy called regulators’ efforts to block the deal a “sad story,” arguing it would’ve allowed iRobot to scale and compete against rapidly growing rivals, such as China-based Anker, Ecovacs and Roborock.

iRobot said Monday its last remaining bidder offered a price per share that was “significantly lower” than its stock price over recent months. Shares of iRobot are down more than 50% this year.

“We currently are not in advanced negotiations with any alternative counterparties to a potential sale or strategic transaction,” iRobot wrote in the filing. “As such, there remains no assurance that our review of strategic alternatives will result in any transaction or outcome.”

In July 2023, iRobot took a $200 million loan from the Carlyle Group to fund its operations as a stopgap until the Amazon deal closed. iRobot said in the filing that it extended the waiver period for certain financial obligations until Dec. 1, its sixth amendment to the credit agreement.

The filing warns that if lenders don’t provide additional funding or if it can’t secure other sources of capital in the near term, it “may be forced to significantly curtail or cease operations and would likely see bankruptcy protection.”