SoftBank said to take a stake in IRobot in buildout

London

SOFTBANK Group Corp has taken a stake in Roomba vacuum-cleaner maker IRobot Corp, people familiar with the matter said, as the Japanese company builds its holdings in robotics firms.

SoftBank has built a less than 5 per cent stake in IRobot, below the amount that would require a regulatory disclosure in the US, the people said, asking not to be identified because the purchase was private. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based technology company has a market value of US$2.4 billion.