The companies have decided to terminate the agreement due to lengthy regulatory approval process and continued uncertainty of the ultimate outcome
Illumina will pay $98m as termination fee to Pacific Biosciences. Credit: Illumina, Inc.
US-based medical technology companies Illumina and Pacific Biosciences of California have jointly agreed to terminate their previously announced merger deal.
Under the proposed agreement, which was signed in November 2018, Illumina would acquire Pacific Biosciences at an enterprise value of approximately $1.2bn in cash.
The acquisition could have complemented Illumina’s sequencing solutions with accurate long-read sequencing capabilities to answer complex genomic questions.
Illumina is a major player in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, serving customers in the research, clinical, and applied markets. The company’s products are used for applications in the life sciences, oncology, reproductive health, agriculture, and other emerging segments.
Illumina will pay $98m as termination fee to Pacific Biosciences
Both Illumina and Pacific Biosciences have decided to terminate the agreement due to lengthy regulatory approval process and persistent uncertainty of the ultimate outcome. In relation with the transaction agreement, Illumina is expected to pay a termination fee of $98m to Pacific Biosciences.
Illumina president and chief executive officer Francis deSouza said: “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.
“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.”
Pacific Biosciences is engaged in designing, development, and manufacturing of sequencing systems to address genetically complex problems. The company’s PacBio sequencing systems, including consumables and software, provide a simple, fast, end-to-end workflow for single molecule and real-time (SMRT) Sequencing.
Pacific Biosciences chief executive officer Michael Hunkapiller said: “We are disappointed that our customers and other stakeholders will not realize the powerful advantages of integrating the sequencing capabilities of our two companies.
“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.”