Illumina closed a $7.1B deal Brussels had banned — the fine was 10% of global revenue

Illumina agreed in 2020 to buy Grail, a startup developing a multi-cancer early-detection blood test, for roughly $7.1 billion. The European Commission opened a formal review even though Grail had no revenue in the EU, reasoning that Illumina's DNA-sequencing dominance could let it favor Grail over rival test developers once the deal closed. The Commission prohibited the merger outright in September 2022.

Illumina closed the acquisition anyway in August 2021, while the EU review was still pending, betting it could contest the prohibition on appeal from a position of control rather than wait. The Commission responded first with fines: in July 2023 it fined Illumina €432 million — a record 'gun-jumping' penalty at roughly 10% of Illumina's global revenue, the maximum band — for closing before clearance, and gave Grail a symbolic €1,000 fine for its lesser role.

In October 2023 the Commission went further and ordered Illumina to divest Grail entirely, unwinding an acquisition that had already closed two years earlier. Illumina announced Grail's divestiture in 2024, converting a $7.1 billion bet on vertical integration into a forced retreat plus the fine.