the uks competition and markets authority said thursday that it is considering whether amazoncom incs proposed 17 billion deal for irobot corp will create substantial lessening of competition and that it is inviting comments on the matter the regulator said the invitation for comment is an initial stage of its informationgathering process before a formal investigation begins in september roomba maker irobot said the us federal trade commission formally requested documents from both companies explaining the deals purpose and rationale a securities filing by irobot said both companies would cooperate with the ftcs investigation after an investigation which typically takes up to a year the ftc can sue to block a merger seek concessions such as divestitures or decline to take action allowing a deal to close