Roche ups bid for Illumina; M&A speculation on Amylin, Actavis

There was a plethora of merger and acquisition news coming out yesterday and this morning, first of which is that Swiss drug major Roche (ROG: SIX) has done a U-turn, announcing an increased offer price for price for all outstanding shares of Illumina (Nasdaq: ILMN) to $ 51.00 a share in cash from $44.50 a share ($5.7 billion in total). All other terms and conditions of the tender offer remain unchanged.

Illumina, a USA-based provider of integrated systems for DNA sequencing, rejected Roche’s hostile bid as “grossly inadequate (The Pharma Letter February 8). Roche then proceeded with a tender offer, which has been extended a couple of times, with the Swiss firm consistently arguing that its $44.50 offer was a fair price.

Commenting on the change of heart announced this morning, Severin Schwan, chief executive of Roche, said: “Based on our discussions with Illumina shareholders we have seen interest to accelerate the takeover process. As a result, we are increasing our offer price to $ 51.00 per share. Roche’s preference continues to be a negotiated transaction. We look forward to the possibility of a swift completion that offers immediate value to Illumina’s shareholders.”