Shares of iRobot plunge 40% on report EU will block purchase by Amazon

Shares of iRobot Corp. plummeted after hours on Thursday after the Wall Street Journal reported that the European Union plans to block Amazon.com Inc.’s purchase of the Roomba maker.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said officials at the EU’s executive branch, the European Commission, told Amazon on Thursday that the deal was likely to be rejected. Commission leaders would still need to formally approve that decision, the Journal noted.