Activist-investor Carl Icahn sued the board of San Diego-based genetic sequencing pioneer Illumina and accused the directors of breaching their fiduciary duties, according to a sealed copy of the complaint on Tuesday.
The publicly available version of the complaint did not contain further details, but Icahn told the 13D investor conference in New York on Tuesday that the lawsuit pertained to Illumina completing its acquisition of cancer detection test maker Grail, a former spinoff.
Earlier this year Icahn initiated a proxy battle for control of Illumnia, which ended with the appointment of one allied board member and the resignation of CEO Francis deSouza.
Illumina said it is reviewing the complaint, while Icahn and Grail did not immediately respond to requests from Reuters for comment.
Illumina had repurchased Grail in 2021 despite opposition from U.S. and European antitrust regulators — a decision that prompted Icahn to pursue the proxy fight, arguing Grail should be divested as it had cost investors billions of dollars.
Last week, Illumina said it would divest cancer test maker Grail in 12 months according to the terms of a European Commission order, if the life sciences company does not win its challenge in court.
Reuters contributed to this article.
