this post was submitted on 16 Dec 2025
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Isn't the real problem here that many companies aim to be bought out as a strategy? They focus on growth to secure a sizeable market share. They often do this without regard for sustaining the business. Equity holders like this because market share inflates company value and selling the company will yield even more money. The downside is though, that at some point, the company can no longer sustain this and must be bought out.
I don't think irobot really needed to go this route or that they weren't competitive any longer. They chose to go for market share and big bucks rather than a long term strategy.
This is why we need more cooperatives. They are better at long term planning, make better products and don't fall prey to predatory value extraction
What market share? The article is very explicit that irobot went broke due to competition.
I think the part where if they had limited their debt and controlled their costs they should still be selling enough to stay open. The other products are better but they still don't have the brand recognition.
They literally used all of their money to do stock buybacks. Imagine if they put it into R&D. Maybe they would still exist.
There it is. Stock buy backs driving the company into insolvency. This should be illegal. They are killing the company to pay investors. It is a farce
They were a few hundred million in debt. That's gonna need more than a reorg to handle.
It is exactly how when companies make the most cutting edge software or develop a platform that gets white-hot. It's about building portfolio and padding it.
They pour into the hard work to make whatever they make the best of its kind. Then when so many people are using it and the value grows, once a company sees its peak value, then it is time to sell.
We've seen this happen many times. Skype to Microsoft. Twitter to Musk. Deals that are worth billions and are making the original creators set for life.
Wtf does that have to do here?