What goes up must come down. It�s a lesson that Illumina�s (ILMN) shareholders are learning this morning following news that Swiss drug giant Roche (RHHBY) has decided not to extend its tender offer for the gene mapping company.
At $42.65 a share, Illumina fell more than 3% or $1.35 in morning market action, bouncing back after having fallen more than 9%�during pre-market trading.
Roche is offering $51 a share for Illumina�and was pushing its own board slate at the company�s annual meeting Wednesday morning in the hopes of erasing a poison pill Illumina adopted as protection against Roche�s hostile bid.
But Roche says a preliminary estimate shows that Illumina�s shareholders have re-elected the incumbent board. And while it holds �Illumina and its management in very high regard but, with access only to public information about Illumina�s business and prospects, we do not believe that a price above Roche�s offer for Illumina of $51.00 per share would be in the interest of Roche�s shareholders,� CEO Severin Schwan said in a release.
Illumina has been battling Roche�s offer, describing itself as the �Apple of genomics.�
Illumina�s share price has been falling over the last month. And Tuesday�s close of $44 a share was below the $44.50 a share Roche initially offered back in January.
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