Things Are Definitely Sucking For The Makers Of Roomba

It appears that indolent housekeepers and Howard Hughes-type germaphobes everywhere might soon need to start vacuuming their own floors again.

This week, iRobot Corp., the company that makes the world's best-selling brand of robotic vacuums - Roomba, announced it will likely be closing up shop and shut down all operations sometime within the next 12 months.

Wall Street shares in the Massachusetts-based company whirled into a 26% vortex of losses on Wednesday after the announcement was made, and reports from Bloomberg indicate the imperiled company's board of directors has launched a full strategic review that includes potential options for refinancing its debt, liquidating its assets, or selling it outright.

iRobot was in line to be sucked up by online giant Amazon in a deal reportedly worth approximately $2 billion a few years ago, but the sale was nixed after the European Commission threatened the halt the acquisition over antitrust concerns.

The company was already struggling financially when the deal was scrubbed, forcing it to take out a $200 million loan from the private equity company, Carlyle Group, Inc., at an interest rate that was nearly nine percent above market averages at the time. The loan eventually went unpaid and Carlyle was left holding the bag for its entire value.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, iRobot reported a net loss of $77 million and said it had less than $140 million in cash and equivalents on hand, and this week's trading tumble saw the company's market capitalization fall to less than $200 million with a stock value of only $3.18 per share.

The brass at iRobot claims the company has new products that are currently in development which might save it from going under, but they also readily admitted there were no guarantees that enough future market success might prevent it from eventually scuppering.

iRobot was founded in 1990 by three members of MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab, who designed robots for things like space exploration and military defense.

In addition to its line of autonomous vacuum cleaners, the company also manufactures self-driven floor mops, swimming pool cleaners, and other similar devices.