Illumina rejects Roche's $5.7- bn hostile bid

Illumina, Inc. the US-based gene sequencing company yesterday rejected the $5.7-billion hostile takeover bid from Roche, saying that the Swiss drug maker's offer is ''inadequate and dramatically undervalues'' the company.

The San Diego, California-based company said that Roche's unsolicited hostile bid failed to properly value its existing and coming products, and recommended shareholders not to tender their shares to the offer.

"Your proposal fails to compensate our stockholders for the intrinsic and scarcity value associated with Illumina's unmatched leadership position," Illumina said in a statement.

''Illumina has established itself as the innovation and market leader in tools for genetic analysis, with a proven track record of profitability and outperformance, resulting in significant value creation,'' said Jay Flatley, president & CEO of Illumina.

''Our industry is nascent, with the promise and potential to experience extraordinary growth in the years ahead as genetic information becomes broadly applied beyond molecular biology research, and into medical diagnostics, reproductive health and cancer management. As the growth of this industry accelerates, Illumina is singularly positioned to expand its market leadership, and to deliver value to our stockholders that is far superior to Roche's offer,'' he added.