Roche extends Illumina takeover deadline

The original offer period expired on February 24 but has now been extended to March 23. By the deadline, just over 100,000 out of a total of 122 million outstanding shares in Illumina had been proffered by shareholders.

Illumina issued a scathing comment on the extension, noting that "an extremely low number of shares have been tendered, consistent with our view – and that of our stockholders – that Roche’s offer does not reflect Illumina’s unique leadership position, business performance and future prospects."

The gene sequencing specialist has consistently claimed that Roche's offer undervalues the company and is opportunistic, coming on the back of a period of weakness in its share price. Roche meanwhile claims that its offer is a premium of 64% over Illumina's share price ahead of the bid announcement, and 43% above the three-month historical average for the stock.