After one of 2022’s biggest business deals, e-commerce titan Amazon and robotics pioneer iRobot announced today that their proposed $1.4 billion merger agreement has been terminated.

Citing insurmountable regulatory hurdles in gaining approval from the European Union, the deal collapsed only months after being unveiled last August. As part of the dissolution, Amazon will pay iRobot a $94 million breakup fee that iRobot intends to use to pay down existing debts.

The cancelled acquisition represents yet another instance of mega tech deals failing to materialize in recent years amidst intensifying government antitrust scrutiny on both sides of the Atlantic. Prior abandoned deals include NVIDIA‘s failed bid to acquire semiconductor firm Arm as well as Adobe walking away from its proposed Figma takeover.

For Amazon and iRobot specifically, EU regulators had expressed worries that Amazon could potentially throttle rival smart home device sellers on its marketplace if it owned top-selling robotic vacuum maker Roomba post-merger.

In response to the deal’s demolition, Amazon General Counsel David Zapolsky conveyed disappointment that the deal could not proceed. He argued that preventing the merger would “deny consumers faster innovation and more competitive prices.”

As for iRobot, leadership changes are now afoot with long-time CEO and company co-founder Colin Angle stepping down from his dual chairman and CEO posts. Replacing Angle as interim chief executive is current iRobot legal chief Glen Weinstein.

Moreover, alongside Angle’s resignation, iRobot announced steep layoffs impacting 31% of employees as well as pausing of non-core product lines to sharpen focus on its signature robotic vacuums. This restructuring aims to ensure financial stability after the unexpected loss of an Amazon buyout.