Dec 14 (Reuters) - Roomba vacuum cleaner maker iRobot

said on Sunday that it had filed for bankruptcy

protection, and would go private after being acquired by Picea,

its primary manufacturer.

The company, which raised concerns about staying in business

in March, filed for bankruptcy in the District of Delaware as it

grapples with macroeconomic and tariff-related uncertainties.

iRobot faces competition from Chinese rivals such as Ecovacs

Robotics, which offer advanced features at lower prices.

iRobot said it will continue operations with no anticipated

disruption to its app functionality, customer programs, global

partners, supply chain relationships, or ongoing product

support.

The company, which was a former $1.4 billion buyout target

of Amazon.com ( AMZN ), listed its estimated assets and

liabilities in the range of $100 million to $500 million,

according to a court filing, with approximately 50,001 to

100,000 creditors.

The loss-making company was once valued at $3.56 billion in

2021, driven by pandemic-fueled demand, but is now worth around

$140 million, according to data compiled by LSEG.