Illumina and Pacific Biosciences have agreed to terminate their agreement in which Illumina would have acquired PacBio, its rival, for $1.2 billion, the companies announced Jan. 2.
The companies said terminating the agreement is in the best interests of their respective shareholders and employees because of the lengthy approval process the transaction has been subject to and the "continued uncertainty of the ultimate outcome."
The FTC moved to block the acquisition in December, alleging that Illumina was illegally trying to maintain a monopoly in the DNA-sequencing market.
As part of the agreement, Illumina will pay PacBio a termination fee of $98 million.
"We are disappointed that our customers and other stakeholders will not realize the powerful advantages of integrating the sequencing capabilities of our two companies," said Michael Hunkapiller, PhD, CEO of PacBio.
Read the full news release here.