Illumina+2.81%
EU blocks Illumina's $8B Grail acquisition
European Union antitrust regulators blocked on Tuesday Illumina's proposed acquisition of Grail worth $8 billion, noting the merger would have "stifled innovation, and reduced choice in the emerging market for blood-based early cancer detection tests."
European Commission Executive Vice-President Margrethe Vestager (pictured) warned that, with the acquisition, Illumina would likely "have an incentive" to cut off Grail's rivals from the technology needed to develop blood-based early cancer detection tests and insisted that it is "vital to preserve competition between early cancer detection test developers."
Grail was founded in 2015 as a spin-off of Illumina with the company holding a stake in it. In 2020, the two companies reached an agreement on Illumina fully acquiring the biotechnology firm.