Hostile takeover bid by Roche on Illumina, an American company specializing in gene sequencing. The Swiss pharmaceutical giant intends to buy the entire outstanding capital of the US company at a price of 44,50 dollars per share, with a premium of 18% compared to the price reached by the securities at the last close. In all, the deal would be valued at $5,7 billion.
It is Roche itself who affirms that this is a hostile takeover bid, since the group's executives "were unable to dialogue with the Illumina board, which has always refused". The president of the Swiss company, Severin Schwan, underlined that “the offer represents a fair value. We therefore believe that Illumina shareholders will welcome the opportunity to sell their stock at a price above current market values."
Roche means merge the Applied Sciences division with Illumina and relocate the new company's headquarters to San Diego, while operational activities will remain in Penzberg, Germany, the current headquarters of Roche Applied Science. Illumina, listed on the Nasdaq, employs 2.100 people and in 2010 declared a turnover of more than 900 million dollars. On the Zurich Stock Exchange, Roche shares are down more than 2%.
