The European Commission fined biotech firm Illumina (ILMN) 432 million euros ($476 million) for closing its acquisition of Grail without the commission's approval, in the Commission's largest merger regulation fine yet. Grail was fined 1,000 euros ($1,100).

Illumina had announced its plans to acquire Grail for $8 billion, consisting of $3.5 billion in cash and $4.5 billion in Illumina common stock, in 2020.

Illumina said acquiring Grail would help it accelerate access to multi-cancer early-detection blood tests for patients. The acquisition closed in August 2021, when Illumina said that Grail would remain an independent entity and the deal would be subject to EU regulatory review.

The EU opened an investigation into Illumina's acquisition of Grail in July 2021, and in September 2022, the Commission blocked the transaction over concerns that it could have significant anticompetitive effects.

In April, the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Trade Commission (FTC) also filed an administrative complaint and ordered Illumina to divest $7.1 billion from Grail. Illumina said it will appeal the FTC’s decision in Federal Court and seek expedited treatment of the appeal by late 2023 to early 2024.