Carl Icahn, a renowned activist investor, has initiated legal action against the board of directors of Illumina, the genetic testing company (NASDAQ:ILMN), alleging a breach of their fiduciary responsibilities. This development emerged following the revelation of a sealed complaint on Tuesday.
The complaint, available only in a restricted form, provided no specific details, but Mr. Icahn disclosed during a recent 13D investor conference in New York that the lawsuit’s primary focus pertains to Illumina’s recent acquisition of Grail, a company specializing in cancer detection tests.
Illumina, in response to the legal action, has stated that they are currently in the process of evaluating the complaint. Up to this point, neither Carl Icahn nor Grail has issued immediate comments in response to Reuters’ requests for clarification.
It should be noted that Illumina’s decision to repurchase Grail in 2021, despite facing opposition from both U.S. and European antitrust regulators, was a significant factor leading to Mr. Icahn’s aggressive pursuit of a proxy fight at Illumina. Icahn’s argument was firmly grounded in the belief that Grail should be divested, as the acquisition had allegedly incurred substantial losses for investors, amounting to billions of dollars.
In a recent development, Illumina publicly announced that it intends to divest Grail within a 12-month timeframe, complying with the directives of the European Commission. The contingency for this divestiture is contingent upon Illumina not prevailing in their ongoing legal challenge.
Notably, in September, Illumina, based in San Diego, appointed Jacob Thaysen from Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) as its new CEO. This decision followed the resignation of the previous CEO after a prolonged proxy battle with billionaire activist Carl Icahn.
