Illumina, San Diego, and Pacific Biosciences, Menlo Park, Calif, have mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement previously announced on November 1, 2018, under which Illumina would have acquired Pacific Biosciences at a fully diluted enterprise value of approximately $1.2 billion in an all-cash transaction.
Considering the lengthy regulatory approval process to which the transaction has already been subject, and the continued uncertainty of the ultimate outcome, the parties decided that terminating the agreement would be in the best interests of their respective shareholders and employees. In accordance with the merger agreement, Illumina will pay Pacific Biosciences a termination fee of $98 million.
Francis deSouza, Illumina.
“We believe this proposed combination would have broadened access to Pacific Biosciences’ sequencing technology, significantly expanded and accelerated innovation, and ultimately increased the clinical utility and impact of sequencing,” says Francis deSouza, president and CEO of Illumina. “I’d like to thank our employees, as well as the Pacific Biosciences team, for their unwavering dedication and commitment throughout this process. Moving forward, we will continue to look for ways to increase the impact and benefit of sequencing technologies for researchers, clinicians, and, most importantly, patients.”
Michael Hunkapiller, PhD, Pacific Biosciences.
“We are disappointed that our customers and other stakeholders will not realize the powerful advantages of integrating the sequencing capabilities of our two companies,” says Michael Hunkapiller, PhD, CEO of Pacific Biosciences. “With that said, we are confident in the future of Pacific Biosciences as we continue to pursue improved sequencing accuracy and throughput that can be utilized in an ever-expanding number of applications.”
For further information, visit Illumina and Pacific Biosciences.
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