Illumina to divest cancer test maker Grail (updated)

Illumina

17/12/2023 20:38

(Adds details from Illumina's statement in paragraph 2,
background in paragraph 3-7)
       Dec 17 (Reuters) - Illumina  ILMN.O  said on Sunday that
it would divest cancer diagnostic test maker Grail  GRAL.O 
after the companies  battled both U.S. and European antitrust
enforcers for more than two years and faced fierce opposition
from activist investor Carl Icahn.
    The divestiture will be executed through a third-party sale
or capital markets transaction, San Diego-based Illumina said in
a statement, adding that it would finalize the terms by second
quarter of 2024.
    Grail, valued at $7.1 billion under Illumina's deal, is
seeking to market a blood test that can diagnose many kinds of
cancer, known as a liquid biopsy.
    The move follows a ruling by the U.S. appeals court on
Friday that struck down a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) order
against Illumina's purchase of Grail, a former subsidiary. The
court said the agency had applied a wrong legal standard.
    The FTC was concerned that Illumina, the dominant provider
of DNA sequencing of tumors and cancer cells that help match
patients with treatments most likely to benefit them, might
raise prices or refuse to sell to Grail's test rivals.
    Europe had proposed measures for Illumina to unwind its
acquisition of Grail. Illumina argued that it does no business
in Europe and therefore the EU competition enforcer has no
jurisdiction.
    Illumina's acquisition of Grail also came under pressure
from investors, including billionaire Icahn, who led a
successful board challenge in May. Icahn in October sued
Illumina, accusing the company of breaching its fiduciary duties
in the Grail deal.
    Neither Grail nor Icahn immediately responded to Reuters
requests for comment.
    

 (Reporting by Anirudh Saligrama and Diane Bartz; Additional
reporting by Svea Herbst-BaylissEditing by Deepa Babington and
Bill Berkrot)
 ((Anirudh.Saligrama@thomsonreuters.com; @journoanirudh on
Twitter;))