
Illumina Urges Shareholders to Reject Roche Offer
Illumina has sent a fourth letter to shareholders urging them to reject Roche?s offer of $51 per share, which Illumina claims is opportunistic and undervaluing the company. In addition, the letter urges shareholders to vote against the candidates that Roche has nominated for election to Illumina?s board of directors. The election will take place at the board?s general meeting on Apr. 18, 2012.
Illumina has sent a fourth letter to shareholders urging them to reject Roche’s offer of $51 per share, which Illumina claims is opportunistic and undervaluing the company. In addition, the letter urges shareholders to vote against the candidates that Roche has nominated for election to Illumina’s board of directors. The election will take place at the board’s general meeting on Apr. 18, 2012.
According to the letter, Illumina’s revenue streams are being increasingly driven by nonresearch uses that have the potential to more than double the size of the company’s addressable market from $4 billion to over $8 billion. The company has also received the backing of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), Egan-Jones Ratings Company and Glass, Lewis & Co., which provide independent proxy voting advice to institutional investors. All three firms have advised shareholders to support the re-election of Illumina’s slate of directors and vote against all Roche proposals.
“We are very pleased that all three of the leading proxy advisors... have now recommended that their clients support the re-election of Illumina’s slate of directors and vote against all of Roche’s proposals at Illumina’s upcoming Annual Meeting,” said Jay T. Flatley, president and CEO of Illumina, in a
Roche has also been sending letters to shareholders urging them to see the merits of the transaction. In
Roche made its first offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina in February for $44.50 per share. However, the offer was increased to $51 per share at the end of March.
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