IRobot, a U.S. robotics company once courted by Amazon, will be acquired by Picea, its primary contract manufacturer. The transaction is part of a Chapter 11 restructuring process filed Sunday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
China-based Picea will acquire a 100% equity interest after agreeing to cancel $180 million in first lien claims and $74 million in supply agreement claims. Another $84 million or so in supply claims will still be owed, per court documents.
IRobot’s shareholders, however, would receive none. If the court approves the plan, “holders of common stock will experience a total loss and not receive recovery on their investment,” per a press release.
IRobot will become a private company and be delisted from the Nasdaq as a result of the transaction. The company expects the bankruptcy to wrap up by February.
The Roomba-maker traces its troubles to 2021, when inflation and inflation-fighting interest rate hikes began to impede its ability to finance its operations. The company continued to struggle after its $1.7 billion acquisition agreement with Amazon, agreed to in 2022, fell through more than a year later over antitrust concerns here and abroad.
In late 2024, the company slashed its workforce by about 40% and the following year “completed the launch of the largest and most comprehensive lineup of new products,” a project dubbed iRobot Elevate.
That led to gross margin improvements, “substantial cost savings, and increased operating income,” but economic forces plus tariffs on imports from Vietnam stymied that progress, the company said in court documents.
“The current uncertainty regarding long-term tariff rates has undermined the Debtors’ ability to forecast and plan their long-term operations,” the company told the court.
CEO Gary Cohen in a statement Sunday called the sale to Picea “a pivotal milestone in securing iRobot's long-term future.”
"The transaction will strengthen our financial position and will help deliver continuity for our consumers, customers, and partners,” he said. “Together, we will work to continue advancing the industry-leading Roomba robots and smart home technologies that have defined the iRobot brand for more than three decades.”
