BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) -- IRobot Corp., the maker of the Roomba vacuum cleaner, said Monday it will buy floor-cleaning robot maker Evolution Robotics Inc. for $74 million.
Privately held Evolution Robotics makes robots that clean hard floors. The Pasadena, Calif., company's Mint and Mint Plus automatic floor cleaning robots are designed to use cleaning cloths, including Swiffer products, to automatically dust and damp-mop hard surfaces. The deal is expected to close in the fourth quarter and add between $4 million and $6 million to iRobot's fourth-quarter revenue, and give the company $22 million to $24 million in additional revenue in 2013.
Evolution Robotics shareholders and its board of directors have approved the deal, iRobot said. IRobot said it expects to take one-time charges of 18 to 22 cents per share in the fourth quarter related to the deal, and it expects 22 to 26 cents per share in charges in 2013.
On average, analysts surveyed by FactSet expect the company to earn 36 cents per share in the fourth quarter on revenue of $141.3 million.
Besides the Roomba, iRobot makes the Scooba floor washer and robots used in surveillance, bomb disposal and other tasks.
Shares of iRobot lost 36 cents to $26.01 Monday.
