Activist investor Keith Meister to join Illumina’s board
By Bhanvi Satija and Christy Santhosh
(Reuters) – Illumina said on Tuesday activist investor Keith Meister would join the gene-sequencing maker’s board and former U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb would take over as the company’s chairman later this week.
Illumina has been caught in the middle of a tariff war between the U.S. and China that has compelled it to cut its annual forecast and implement a cost-savings plan.
China, which accounts for 7% of Illumina’s sales, has banned imports of the company’s genetic sequencers in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
The company’s shares have declined about 40% this year, with investors also concerned about Illumina’s product sales taking a hit due to U.S. research funding cuts and looming competition from Roche’s gene-sequencing device.
Morningstar analyst Julie Utterback said Meister’s hedge fund Corvex Management sees more potential in Illumina than the market.
“We suspect Meister will lobby for value-creating activities like cost controls to boost margins or share repurchases at these low levels,” Utterback said.
Once activist investor Carl Icahn’s right-hand man, Meister worked as principal executive officer at Icahn Capital before creating Corvex in 2010.
Meister previously said his rivals’ work had led him to buy stake in companies such as Illumina, where stocks are due for big gains. His fund Corvex first disclosed ownership in Illumina after Icahn’s proxy fight was resolved.
Corvex currently owns about 1.7 million shares, or 1.07% of Illumina, according to a regulatory filing.
Icahn, who ran a proxy fight at Illumina in 2023, won a board seat and soon after saw a new CEO arrive.
Gottlieb will replace current chairman and Icahn’s nominee, Hologic CEO Stephen MacMillan, who is retiring after a two-year stint. He served as the FDA’s commissioner from 2017 to 2019 and has been part of Illumina’s board since 2020.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shounak Dasgupta)
