EU regulators to order Illumina to sell Grail - Financial Times

Investing.com -- European Union competition regulators are set to order U.S. biotech group Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) to sell cancer test development unit Grail following an $8 billion purchase of the firm that was unauthorized by Brussels, according to the Financial Times.

Citing three people with knowledge of the matter, the FT reported the EU could issue the order as soon as next week, although this timing could still slip.

The paper quoted one source as saying that Illumina "bought something illegally and now they need to sell it."

Illumina and Brussels have been at odds since 2021, when the San Diego-based company finished its purchase of Grail even though EU authorities had not yet completed their investigation into the competition implications of the transaction.

The EU later moved to block the deal before evenutally fining Illumina €432 million in July. Illumina has argued that because Grail does not generate any revenues in Europe, the purchase cannot be subject to scrutiny by Brussels.

New York-listed Illumina plans to appeal any orders to sell Grail, unnamed sources told the FT. 

Shares in Illumina were lower in early U.S. trading on Monday.