iRobot says misses out on U.S. military contract

BOSTON (Reuters) - iRobot Corp (IRBT.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) missed out in an effort to win a U.S. military contract to provide robots for use in the Middle East, a company spokeswoman said on Monday.

Shares in the maker of robots for military use and home cleaning fell $5.48, or 23.2 percent, to $18.14 in morning Nasdaq trade.

The U.S. government announced the contract award late Friday, the spokeswoman said.

(Reporting by Jim Finkle)