Illumina terminated the $1.2bn acquisition of Pacific Biosciences.

Illumina, which develops, manufactures and markets integrated systems for the analysis of genetic variation and biological function, terminated the $1.2bn acquisition of Pacific Biosciences, an American biotechnology company. In accordance with the merger agreement, Illumina will pay Pacific Biosciences a termination fee of $98m. “We are disappointed that our customers and other stakeholders will not realize the powerful advantages of integrating the sequencing capabilities of our two companies. With that said, we are confident in the future of Pacific Biosciences as we continue to pursue improved sequencing accuracy and throughput that can be utilized in an ever-expanding number of applications,” Michael Hunkapiller, Pacific Biosciences CEO.