Illumina Files Preliminary Proxy, Urging Shareholders to Vote for Its Director Nominees and Withhold for Each Icahn Group Nominee

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[{"type":"text","content":"SAN DIEGO, March 30, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Illumina (NASDAQ: ILMN), a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, today filed its preliminary proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which contains important information for shareholders.\nThe activist investor Carl Icahn has nominated three of his associates to stand for election to the Board of Directors at Illumina's 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders. Illumina recommends shareholders vote in favor of the Company's Board of Directors and withhold votes for the three Icahn Group director nominees. Carl Icahn's involvement with Illumina risks the long-term success of the Company, and his director nominees bring no relevant skills to the Board of Directors.\nMr. Icahn is not a long-term Illumina shareholder and made no attempt to engage constructively with the Company before demanding board representation. Mr. Icahn's first communication to the Company was a written request for a director questionnaire (a pre-requisite to a director nomination), received days prior to the close of the Company's nomination deadline.\nAfter providing that questionnaire, Illumina's management team and Board moved quickly and deliberately to meet Mr. Icahn in person, understand his perspectives, interview his nominees in good faith, and explore potential alternatives to a proxy fight. Mr. Icahn was unwilling to compromise, instead insisting that the Board should unilaterally add each of his three associate nominees immediately with no input from other shareholders.\nAs detailed in the background section of the preliminary proxy statement, during the numerous interactions between Illumina and the Icahn Group, it has become abundantly clear that neither Mr. Icahn, nor his three associate nominees – Jesse Lynn, Andrew Teno, or Vincent Intrieri – understand Illumina's business or GRAIL and the associated regulatory processes. \nJohn W. Thompson, independent Chair of Illumina, and Francis A. deSouza, CEO of Illumina, met in person and spoke with Mr. Icahn via telephone on several occasions. Mr. Icahn made a number of points clear:\n1) He believes Illumina has a good business, and he does not presume to know how to run it any better2) He supports Illumina's management of the business, although he was quick to note that he would not admit the same in a proxy fight3) He ...

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