[GW_OK]

Hey kids! Who's trading up nearly 8% today?
If you guessed illumina, you're right!
If you also guessed it's because Roche is finally buying them, you may also be right!

Google Finance

Nasdaq article

A little birdy told me Roche's maybe offering 66 a share...........

[rfilbert]

Illumina does seem to be out of ideas. Their only new thing in 2012 is BaseSpace? Not sure why Roche would still want to buy them. They are following in the footsteps of Affymetrix.

[pmiguel]

Illumina does seem to be out of ideas. Their only new thing in 2012 is BaseSpace? Not sure why Roche would still want to buy them. They are following in the footsteps of Affymetrix.

Are you kidding me? Over the past 5 years Illumina has crushed ABI and Roche with their initial offerings in this market. Not even close.

Just this year:
Illumina launched their 250 base chemistry on the MiSeq and 150 base chemistry on the HiSeq -- both requiring only a couple of days to complete a run. Meanwhile they are also mopping the floor with pretty much any other company with respect to library prep kits.

Illumina has one remaining competitor -- that is Proton/Ion Torrent (which, yeah ABI did acquire), but it is unclear whether even these guys will be able to overtake them.

I am not looking forward to Roche imposing its moribund worldview on Illumina. I hope the sale doesn't happen.

But even if it does, it seems to take Roche several years to completely ruin a company. By that time the 4th gen instruments will likely have risen to preeminence anyway.

--
Phillip

[rfilbert]

Commercially, Ion Torrent is mopping the floor for now, not Illumina. Homopolymer issues aside, Proton's price point is a HUGE problem that Illumina does not have an answer to. Yes, I look forward to 4th gen, single molecule sequencing as well. Maybe Oxford Nanopore will be the next big thing...

[pmiguel]

Commercially, Ion Torrent is mopping the floor for now, not Illumina. Homopolymer issues aside, Proton's price point is a HUGE problem that Illumina does not have an answer to.

Now, no. Maybe in the coming months. We'll see. My experience this decade is that it doesn't pay to underestimate ABI's ability to fumble a good thing, whereas Illumina rarely falters. Well, that was the case. With Roche in control, that could change. If the market had better instincts then ABI's stock prices should have risen on information that Illumina might be acquired by Roche.

I mean, is there no accounting for how badly, how disgracefully Roche blew it with the 454? So now the big stumbling giant wants another swat at Illumina?

Yes, I look forward to 4th gen, single molecule sequencing as well. Maybe Oxford Nanopore will be the next big thing...

Ah yes, there was to be a commercial release by the end of the year. Hmm, I did not notice one. Maybe they were taking a play out of the Perl6 playbook and meant "the end of some year"?

--
Phillip

[GW_OK]

And now Roche says: "Not gonna happen".

[pmiguel]

And now Roche says: "Not gonna happen".

Well, that is a relief.

--
Phillip

[Geneus]

Easy come, easy go. Ilmn stock down 7% today on that news.