- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Kyle Brasseur2023-07-18T12:40:00
The European Commission imposed maximum disciplinary measures in fining U.S.-based biotechnology company Illumina 432 million euros (U.S. $476 million) regarding its “gun-jumping” merger with cancer detection company Grail.
The penalty, announced July 12, represents the 10 percent of worldwide annual turnover that the European Commission is capable of ordering a company to pay under European Union merger regulations. The commission also levied a “symbolic” fine of €1,000 (U.S. $1,100) against Grail for its involvement.
The commission said Illumina’s actions in merging with Grail before receiving EU approval represented an “unprecedented and very serious infringement” of the bloc’s merger control system. The regulator accused the company of “knowingly and intentionally” breaching EU rules by weighing the risk of a fine against the costs of a failed takeover of Grail.
For its part, Illumina said via a spokesperson emailed statement it would appeal the fine, which it found to be “unlawful, inappropriate, and disproportionate.”
The case offers broader lessons for the M&A landscape, including the following:
THIS IS MEMBERS-ONLY CONTENT. To continue reading, choose one of the options below.
News and analysis for the well-informed compliance or audit exec. Select an option and click continue.
Annual Membership $499 Value offer
Full price one year membership with auto-renewal.
Membership $599
One-year only, no auto-renewal.
New draft merger guidance put forward by the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission continues the agencies’ joint mission to modernize antitrust enforcement.
The Federal Trade Commission announced the withdrawal of two antitrust policy statements the agency deemed “outdated.” The move puts the FTC in line with the Department of Justice, which announced a similar action earlier this year.
The results of a recent survey conducted by Compliance Week and Avalara found most businesses consider governmental licenses as part of due diligence efforts during mergers and acquisitions, yet the opportunity for risk management improvements remains.
USAA Federal Savings Bank has been hit with its third cease and desist order from the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the past five years for failing to correct unsafe and unsound banking practices.
Becton Dickinson medical device company will pay $175 million for “repeatedly” misleading investors about its Alaris infusion pump, a product the company knew was flawed and was sold without the required patient-safety approvals, the Securities and Exchange Commission said.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged bankrupt fashion retailer Express with failing to disclose nearly $1 million in perks to a former chief executive, but did not levy a financial penalty thanks to its cooperation, the SEC said.
