Roche tries to pressure Illumina to start talking

Illumina ($ILMN) isn't the only game in town, and Roche could easily find other companies to acquire that are equally advanced in the gene-sequencing field, Roche ($RHHBY) Chairman Franz Humer told his company's shareholders Tuesday. As Reuters reports, Humer spoke during Roche's annual shareholders meeting in a not-so-subtle attempt to increase the pressure on gene-sequencing company Illumina to start talking with Roche about its $5.7 billion hostile bid. For now, Illumina is resisting the unsolicited bid with a "poison pill" strategy, Reuters notes. Meanwhile, some analysts pointed out to Reuters that while there are some alternatives, Illumina may be the best, most advanced acquisition target among them. Story