Illumina Nears Deal to Buy Health-Care Startup Grail

(Bloomberg) — Genetic sequencing giant Illumina Inc. is in talks to acquire cancer-detection startup Grail Inc., according to people familiar with the matter.Grail could fetch more than the $6 billion valuation that it had reached from previous fundraisings, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the details aren’t public. As a private company Grail has raised more than $1.9 billion, according regulatory filings.The companies could announce a deal as soon as this week, said the people. No final decision has been made and talks could fall apart, they said.Shares of Illumina, which initially jumped, fell 4.8% at 11:01 a.m. in New York trading, giving the San Diego-based company a market value of $49 billion. The acquisition would be Illumina’s biggest ever deal, data compiled by Bloomberg show.Representatives for Illumina didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment. A representative for Menlo Park, California-based Grail declined to comment. Grail, whose backers have included Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, filed for an initial public offering this month.Illumina and Grail already have close ties. Grail was formed as a subsidiary of the San Diego-based company in 2015, and Illumina still owns more than 10% of its stock, according to regulatory filings.Illumina is also its sole supplier of the sequencers that Grail uses for performing genomic tests.(Updates with Illumina share move in fourth paragraph.)For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.comSubscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source.©2020 Bloomberg L.P.