Carl Icahn Escalates Boardroom Battle At Illumina, Seeks To Remove More Directors After Grail Divestiture

Activist investor Carl Icahn said on Monday that he plans to oust legacy conflicted directors at Illumina Inc ILMN, laying the groundwork for a second board challenge at the San Diego gene-sequencing company only months after shareholders elected one of his director candidates.

Icahn disclosed his plans in a letter to other shareholders after Illumina said it would divest blood test maker Grail Inc.

In the letter, Icahn cheered the divestiture decision but said the job at Illumina still needs to be fully completed.

"Our third goal is to remove these legacy conflicted directors," Icahn wrote in a letter that was made public in a regulatory filing. 

The letter said that his first two goals were to push out former CEO Francis deSouza, who resigned in June, and get Illumina to divest Grail.

Icahn said Illumina's legacy directors cannot be trusted to oversee the disposal of Grail. "It would be a great mistake to allow the legacy conflicted directors to influence Illumina given their history of reckless decision-making and value destruction," the letter said.

Icahn blamed the Grail acquisition, which has faced regulatory challenges since 2021, for a 75% drop in Illumina's share price that he says wiped away $55 billion in market value. 

Bloomberg, citing sources close to the matter, noted that Voting on nominees would take place at next year's annual general meeting. Icahn's plans could change before the January 26 nomination deadline.

Price Action: ILMN shares are up 0.30% at $130.00 premarket on the last check Tuesday.

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