Illumina in EU hearing to fight order to divest GRAIL
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Illumina (NASDAQ:ILMN) sought to persuade senior EU and national antitrust officials at a closed hearing on Wednesday against an order to divest its 2021 acquisition of cancer test maker GRAIL.
In December, the European Commission ordered Illumina (ILMN) to divest GRAIL three months after an EU veto of the $7.1B acquisition on antitrust grounds and concerns about the impact on innovation.

"We disagree that the Commission has jurisdiction to review the Grail transaction and believe that divestment is not proportional to the speculative harm the Commission has alleged," Illumina (ILMN) said ahead of the hearing, according to Reuters.
The hearing comes at a time when three appeals are pending in Europe's top courts over the EU decision to intervene in the transaction.
"Any divestment order should be stayed until our appeal of the Commission's prohibition decision has been resolved," the company added.
Meanwhile, Illumina (ILMN) is trading sharply lower in the morning hours Wednesday after the company's Q4 2022 results fell short of Street forecasts for earnings.

Read: In August, Seeking Alpha contributor William Meyers wrote, "Illumina needs GRAIL, but may lose it."