Roche commences tender offer for Illumina, Inc. for USD 44.50 per share in cash

Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY), a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals, life science tools and diagnostics, announced today that it has commenced a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina, Inc. (NASDAQ: ILMN). The offer and withdrawal rights are scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on February 24, 2012, unless the offer is extended.

Under the terms of the offer, Roche is offering to acquire Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash, or an aggregate of approximately $5.7 billion on a fully diluted basis. This offer represents a premium of 64% over Illumina’s closing stock price on December 21, 2011 – the day before market rumors about a potential transaction between Roche and Illumina drove Illumina’s stock price significantly higher – a 61% premium over the one-month historical average and a 43% premium over the three-month historical average of Illumina’s share price, both as of December 21.

Roche’s offer is conditional upon, among other things, (i) the tender by Illumina’s stockholders prior to the expiration of the tender offer of a number of shares, which, together with the shares owned by Roche, represents at least a majority of the total number of shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis, (ii) the redemption of the preferred stock purchase rights associated with the shares or Roche’s satisfaction in its reasonable discretion that such rights have been invalidated or are otherwise inapplicable to the tender offer and the proposed merger, (iii) Roche’s satisfaction that the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law are inapplicable to the proposed merger and (iv) Illumina must not have entered into or effectuated any agreement or transaction with any person or entity having the effect of impairing Roche’s ability to acquire Illumina or otherwise diminishing the expected value to Roche of the acquisition of Illumina. If following the consummation of the offer Roche owns at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Illumina on a fully diluted basis, Roche intends to consummate a merger with Illumina.