Billionaire Activist Investor Carl Icahn Shows Support For Illumina's Newly Appointed CEO

Activist investor Carl Icahn has thrown his support behind Illumina Inc's ILMN new CEO, Jacob Thaysen, providing a sigh of relief for the company as it strives to recover from a contentious proxy battle with the billionaire activist investor.

"I think he will do an excellent job, and he has my full support," Icahn said in a post on X.

Icahn, who still holds a small stake in Illumina, initiated a proxy battle over the company's decision to proceed with its $7.1 billion acquisition of cancer test developer Grail in 2021 despite lacking approval from antitrust regulators in the U.S. and the European Union.

During this proxy battle, Icahn had been a vocal critic of Illumina's former CEO, Francis deSouza, who eventually resigned despite having secured enough votes to retain his position. 

Icahn had expressed his discontent, stating, "I'd find it comical, if it wasn't so reprehensible that ILMN's share price is down 63% due to CEO Francis deSouza making such an absurd and questionable purchase," in a statement to CNBC in March.

Investors will closely observe Thaysen's approach to managing the Grail business and whether he can rebuild the market value that the company lost.

Price Action: ILMN shares are up 0.72% at $160 on the last check Friday.