Illumina Inc. ILMN said Monday it received notice from Icahn Partners that the organization plans to nominate three candidates to to the board over concerns about the company’s $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail. Jesse Lynn and Andrew Teno are current Icahn employees and Vincent Intrieri is a former Icahn employee. Icahn reportedly told Illumina that the acquisition, which has faced regulatory scrutiny, cost shareholders $50 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. The news rallied shares, which were up about 18% in trading on Monday afternoon. “It is not in the best interests of shareholders to appoint Mr. Icahn’s three nominees to the board of Illumina,” the company said. “The board recommends that shareholders not support Mr. Icahn’s nominees.” Illumina’s stock is down 21.7% so far this year, while the broader S&P 500 SPX is up about 1.0%.
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