The European Union on Wednesday slapped a $475 million fine on U.S. biotech giant Illumina for buying out cancer-screening company Grail without the approval of the 27-nation bloc's antitrust watchdog, the latest setback for the deal.
Illumina announced an $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail in 2020, but the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, said the company broke the bloc's merger rules by completing the deal without its consent. The EU had announced last year that it was blocking the merger, saying it would hurt competitors.
