The European Commission exceeded its authority by asserting jurisdiction over the Illumina-Grail merger, the European Court of Justice has ruled.
On Septeber 3, the ECJ slapped down the Commission led by Ursula von der Leyen, saying it is “is not authorised to encourage or accept referrals of proposed concentrations without a European dimension from national competition authorities where those authorities are not competent to examine those proposed concentrations under their own national law”.
The ruling will come as a sever blow to the EU, seriously undermining its ability to police large scale mergers and acquisitions.
Illumina has consistently maintained th European Commission exceeded its authority by asserting jurisdiction over its merger with Grail.
Illumina is a US-based company that has established itself as a global leader in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies,
In September 2021, the US compoany Grail announced it had accepted an offer by Illumina to buy it. Grail develops blood tests for the early detection of cancer.
As Grail had no turnover in Europe, neither company beleived it necessary to inform the European Commission about the aquisition.
However, the Frech competition authority opposed the merger, leading to the Commission fining Illumina €432 million (£364m).
The ECJ said that it set aside the judgment of the General Court and annulled the Commission decisions at issue in its landmark ruling.
Illumina has since sold most of its stake in Grail, which is now an independent public company.
In a statement the company said: “Today’s judgment confirms Illumina’s longstanding view that the European Commission exceeded its authority by asserting jurisdiction over this merger. The basis for the 432 million euro fine has now been removed and will no longer be payable.
“Following Illumina’s spin-off of GRAIL in June 2024, GRAIL is now an independent public company. Illumina maintains a minority share of 14.5% in GRAIL, and Illumina will continue to support the company with its sequencing technology and suite of services.
“In the US, the FTC Commissioners dismissed the case against Illumina and GRAIL on August 15, 2024, following the successful spinoff of GRAIL, thus ending the US proceedings.”