SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

 

 

SCHEDULE 14D-9

Solicitation/Recommendation Statement Under

Section 14(d)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

 

 

Illumina, Inc.

(Name of Subject Company)

Illumina, Inc.

(Name of Person Filing Statement)

 

 

Common Stock, $0.01 par value

(Title of Class of Securities)

452327109

(CUSIP Number of Class of Securities)

 

 

Christian G. Cabou

Senior Vice President & General Counsel

Illumina, Inc.

5200 Illumina Way

San Diego, CA 92122

(858) 202-4500

(Name, address and telephone number of person authorized to receive notices and

communications on behalf of the person filing statement)

With a copy to:

Frederick W. Kanner

Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP

1301 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York 10019

(212) 259-7300

 

 

 

¨ Check the box if the filing relates solely to preliminary communications made before the commencement of a tender offer.

 

 

 


Item 1. Subject Company Information.

Name and Address.

The name of the subject company to which this Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 (together with any exhibits and annexes attached hereto, this “Statement”) relates is Illumina, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Illumina”). Illumina’s principal executive offices are located at 5200 Illumina Way, San Diego, California 92122, and its telephone number is (858) 202-4500.

Securities.

The title of the class of equity securities to which this Statement relates is Illumina’s common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the shares of Illumina’s common stock being referred to as the “Shares”), and the associated preferred stock purchase rights (the “Rights”) issued pursuant to the Rights Agreement, dated as of January 26, 2012, by and between Illumina and Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (the “Rights Agreement”). Unless the context requires otherwise, all references to the Shares include the Rights and all references to the Rights include the benefits that may inure to the holders of the Rights pursuant to the Rights Agreement. As of January 31, 2012, there were (1) 122,327,021 Shares outstanding, (2) outstanding stock options to purchase 10,238,771 Shares, (3) outstanding restricted stock units representing 3,300,661 Shares and (4) 12,849,162 Shares potentially subject to issuance upon conversion of Illumina’s outstanding convertible notes. Please see “Item 5. Persons/Assets Retained, Employed, Compensated or Used – Derivative Transactions” for a description of certain convertible bond hedge transactions and issuer warrant transactions.

 

Item 2. Identity and Background of Filing Person.

Name and Address.

The name, business address and business telephone number of Illumina, which is the subject company and the person filing this Statement, are set forth in “Item 1. Subject Company Information – Name and Address” above. Illumina’s website address is www.illumina.com. The information on Illumina’s website is not a part of this Statement and is not incorporated herein by reference.

Tender Offer.

This Statement relates to the unsolicited tender offer by CKH Acquisition Corporation, a Delaware corporation (“Purchaser”) and an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Roche Holding Ltd, a joint stock company organized under the laws of Switzerland (“Roche”), to purchase all outstanding Shares for $44.50 per Share, net to the seller in cash, without interest and less applicable withholding taxes, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase dated January 27, 2012 (the “Offer to Purchase”) and the related Letter of Transmittal (which, together with any amendments or supplements thereto, collectively constitute the “Offer”), included as Exhibits (a)(1)(i) and (a)(1)(ii) to the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO (together with exhibits thereto, as amended, the “Schedule TO”), filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on January 27, 2012 by Purchaser and Roche. According to the Schedule TO, the Offer is scheduled to expire at 12:00 Midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on February 24, 2012, unless the Offer is extended. The Offer is further described in the Schedule TO.

The Schedule TO states that the purpose of the Offer is to acquire control of, and the entire equity interest in, Illumina. Purchaser has indicated that it intends, as soon as practicable after consummation of the Offer, to seek maximum representation on Illumina’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) and to seek to have Illumina consummate a merger with Purchaser or an affiliate of Purchaser (the “Proposed Merger”).

According to the Schedule TO, the Offer is subject to numerous conditions, including the following, among others:

 

   

the “Minimum Tender Condition” – there being validly tendered and not withdrawn on or prior to the expiration of the Offer a number of Shares, which, together with the Shares then owned by Roche and its subsidiaries (including Purchaser) represents at least a majority of the total number of Shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis;

 

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the “Rights Condition” – the Board redeeming the Rights or Purchaser being satisfied, in its reasonable discretion, that the Rights have been invalidated or are otherwise inapplicable to the Offer and the Proposed Merger;

 

   

the “Section 203 Condition” – Purchaser being satisfied, in its reasonable discretion, that Section 203 of the Delaware General Corporation Law (the “DGCL”) is inapplicable to the Proposed Merger; and

 

   

the “Impairment Condition” – Illumina not having entered into or effectuated any agreement or transaction with any person or entity having the effect of impairing Purchaser’s or Roche’s ability to acquire Illumina or otherwise diminishing the expected value to Roche of the acquisition of Illumina.

According to the Schedule TO, in addition, Purchaser is not required to consummate the Offer and may terminate or amend the Offer if (1) any applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (the “HSR Act”), or under any agreement with the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice (the “Antitrust Division”) or the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”), has not expired or been terminated early, or any required notification to a relevant competition authority under any applicable foreign antitrust or merger control statute or regulation has not been deemed by such authority to be complete, any post-notification period required by such foreign statute or regulation has not expired or approval from the relevant competition authority as may be required by such foreign statute or regulation has not been obtained prior to the expiration of the Offer or (2) at any time on or after January 27, 2012, and on or prior to the expiration of the Offer (or thereafter in relation to any condition dependent upon the receipt of government approvals), any of the following conditions, among others, exist:

 

   

there is threatened, instituted or pending any action or proceeding by any person before any court or governmental authority or agency, domestic, foreign or supranational, challenging or seeking to restrain or prohibit the making of the Offer, seeking to obtain material damages or otherwise directly or indirectly relating to the transactions contemplated by the Offer or the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina, seeking to restrain or prohibit the exercise of Purchaser’s full rights of ownership or operation by Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates of all or a portion of Purchaser’s business or assets or that of Illumina or any of Purchaser’s or Illumina’s respective subsidiaries or affiliates, seeking to require divestiture by Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates of any Shares, seeking any material diminution in the benefits expected to be derived by Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates as a result of the transactions contemplated by the Offer or the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina or that otherwise, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, has or may have material adverse significance with respect to either the value of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the value of the Shares to Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates;

 

   

any action is taken, or any statute, rule, regulation, injunction, order or decree is proposed, enacted, enforced, promulgated, issued or deemed applicable to the Offer, the acceptance for payment of or payment for Shares, or the Proposed Merger or any other business combination involving Illumina, by any court, government or governmental authority or agency, domestic, foreign or supranational, other than the application of the waiting period provisions under the HSR Act or under any agreement with the Antitrust Division or the FTC or under any applicable foreign antitrust or merger control statutes or regulations (as in effect as of January 27, 2012), that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, might, directly or directly, result in any of the consequences referred to in the bullet point immediately above;

 

   

the government of the United States has not completed its national security review and, if necessary, investigation, under the Exon-Florio Statute, Sec. 721 of Title VII of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended (“Exon-Florio”), and has not concluded that no adverse action with respect to the acceptance for payment of, and payment for, the Shares pursuant to the Offer or the consummation of the Proposed Merger, including any action to impose a condition upon, suspend or prohibit the Offer or the Proposed Merger, is necessary;

 

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any change occurs or is threatened (or any development occurs or is threatened involving a prospective change) in the business, assets, liabilities, financial condition, capitalization, operations, results of operations or prospects of Illumina or any of its affiliates that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, is or may be materially adverse to Illumina or any of its affiliates, or Purchaser becomes aware of any facts that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, have or may have material adverse significance with respect to either the value of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the value of the Shares to Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates;

 

   

there occurs (a) any general suspension of trading in, or limitation on prices for, securities on any national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market, (b) any decline in either the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard and Poor’s Index of 500 Industrial Companies or the NASDAQ-100 Index by an amount in excess of 15%, measured from the business day immediately preceding the commencement of the Offer, (c) any change in the general political, market, economic or financial conditions in the United States, the European Union or elsewhere that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of operations or prospects of Roche and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or Illumina and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (d) the declaration of a banking moratorium or any suspension of payments in respect of banks in the United States, the European Union, Switzerland or elsewhere, (e) the nationalization, insolvency or placement into receivership of, or provision of extraordinary assistance to, any major bank in the United States, European Union or Switzerland, or the taking of possession of any such bank by a governmental or regulatory authority, (f) the default by any member of the European Union in payment of, or the inability of any such member to pay, any of its debts as they become due or the withdrawal (or announcement of an intent to withdraw) by any member of the European Monetary Union therefrom or any such member otherwise ceasing (or announcing its intent to cease) to maintain the Euro as its official currency, (g) any material adverse change (or development or threatened development involving a prospective material adverse change) in U.S. dollar or Euro currency exchange rates (including a material decline in the value of the Euro or dollar relative to any other currency) or the markets therefor (including any suspension of, or limitation on, such markets), (h) any material adverse change in the market price of the Shares or in the U.S. or European securities or financial markets, (i) the commencement of a war, armed hostilities or other international or national calamity directly or indirectly involving the United States or any attack on, outbreak or act of terrorism involving the United States, (j) any limitation (whether or not mandatory) by any governmental authority or agency on, or any other event or change that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, may adversely affect, the extension of credit by banks or other financial institutions or the availability of financing or (k) in the case of any of the foregoing existing at the time of the commencement of the Offer, a material acceleration or worsening thereof;

 

   

(a) a tender or exchange offer for some or all of the Shares has been publicly proposed to be made or has been made by another person (including Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates), or has been publicly disclosed, or Purchaser otherwise learns that any person or “group” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) has acquired or proposes to acquire beneficial ownership of more than 5% of any class or series of capital stock of Illumina (including the Shares), through the acquisition of stock, the formation of a group or otherwise, or is granted any option, right or warrant, conditional or otherwise, to acquire beneficial ownership of more than 5% of any class or series of capital stock of Illumina (including the Shares) other than acquisitions for bona fide arbitrage purposes only and other than as disclosed in a Schedule 13D or 13G on file with the SEC on January 20, 2012, (b) any such person or group which, on or prior to January 20, 2012, had filed such a Schedule with the SEC has acquired or proposes to acquire beneficial ownership of additional shares constituting 1% or more of any class or series of capital stock of Illumina (including the Shares), through the acquisition of stock, the formation of a group or otherwise, or is granted any option, right or warrant, conditional or otherwise, to acquire beneficial ownership of additional shares constituting 1% or more of any class or series of capital stock of Illumina (including the Shares), (c) any person or group has entered into a definitive agreement or an

 

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agreement in principle or made a proposal with respect to a tender or exchange offer or a merger, consolidation or other business combination with or involving Illumina or (d) any person has filed a Notification and Report Form under the HSR Act or made a public announcement reflecting an intent to acquire Illumina or any assets or securities of Illumina;

 

   

Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has (a) split, combined or otherwise changed the Shares or its capitalization, (b) acquired or otherwise caused a reduction in the number of outstanding Shares or other securities, (c) issued or sold any additional Shares, (d) declared or paid any dividend or (e) altered the material term of any outstanding security or issued or sold any debt security;

 

   

Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has (a) authorized, recommended, proposed or announced its intention to enter into an agreement with respect to or effected any merger, consolidation, liquidation, dissolution, business combination, acquisition of assets, disposition of assets or relinquishment of any material contract or other right of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or any comparable event not in the ordinary course of business or (b) entered into any agreement or arrangement with any person or group that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, has or may have material adverse significance with respect to either the value of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the value of the Shares to Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates;

 

   

Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has entered into or amended any employment, severance or similar agreement, arrangement or plan with any of its employees other than in the ordinary course of business or entered into or amended any such agreements, arrangements or plans so as to provide for increased benefits to employees as a result of or in connection with the making of the Offer, the acceptance for payment of or payment for some of or all the Shares by Purchaser or Purchaser’s consummation of the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina;

 

   

Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has amended or proposed any amendment to its certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or other similar constituent documents);

 

   

Purchaser becomes aware (a) that any material contractual right of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has been or will be impaired or otherwise adversely affected or that any material amount of indebtedness of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has been accelerated or has otherwise become due or become subject to acceleration prior to its stated due date in connection with the Offer or the consummation by Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates of the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina, other than pursuant to Illumina’s 0.625% convertible senior notes due 2014 or 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2016, in each case on the terms set forth in the relevant indentures between Illumina and the Bank of New York, as trustee, in the forms filed by Illumina with the SEC as Exhibit 4.1 to its current report on Form 8-K dated February 16, 2007 and Exhibit 4.1 to its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 3, 2011, respectively or (b) of any covenant, term or condition in any instrument or agreement of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, has or may have material adverse significance with respect to either the value of Illumina or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or the value of the Shares to Purchaser or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries (including, without limitation, any event of default that may ensue as a result of or in connection with the Offer, the acceptance for payment of or payment for some or all of the Shares by Purchaser or Purchaser’s consummation of the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina);

 

   

any required approval, permit, authorization, extension, action or non-action, waiver, consent of any governmental authority or agency shall not have been obtained on terms satisfactory to Purchaser;

 

   

Purchaser or any of its affiliates enters into a definitive agreement or announces an agreement in principle with Illumina providing for a merger or other similar business combination with Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or the purchase of securities or assets of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries, or Purchaser and Illumina reach any other agreement or understanding pursuant to which it is agreed that the Offer will be terminated; or

 

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Illumina or any of its subsidiaries shall have (a) granted to any person proposing a merger or other business combination with or involving Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or the purchase of securities or assets of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries any type of option, warrant or right which, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, constitutes a “lock-up” device (including, without limitation, a right to acquire or receive any Shares or other securities, assets or business of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries) or (b) paid or agreed to pay any cash or other consideration to any party in connection with or in any way related to any such business combination or purchase;

which, in Roche’s or Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, in any such case, and regardless of the circumstances (including any action or omission by Roche or Purchaser) giving rise to any such condition, makes it inadvisable to proceed with such acceptance for payment or payment.

According to the Schedule TO, the foregoing conditions are for the sole benefit of Roche, Purchaser and their affiliates and may be asserted by Purchaser or Roche in Purchaser’s sole discretion regardless of the circumstances (including any action or omission by Roche or Purchaser) giving rise to any such conditions or may be waived by Purchaser in its sole discretion in whole or in part at any time or from time to time on or prior to the expiration of the Offer (provided that all conditions to the Offer other than those dependent upon the receipt of government approvals must be satisfied or waived prior to expiration of the Offer). The Schedule TO provides that: (1) Purchaser expressly reserves the right to waive any of the conditions to the Offer and to make any change in the terms of or conditions to the Offer; (2) Purchaser’s failure at any time to exercise its rights under any of the foregoing conditions shall not be deemed a waiver of any such right; (3) the waiver of any such right with respect to particular facts and circumstances shall not be deemed a waiver with respect to any other facts and circumstances; and (4) each such right shall be deemed an ongoing right which may be asserted at any time or from time to time. According to the Schedule TO, any determination made by Purchaser concerning the events described in Section 14 of the Offer to Purchase shall be final and binding upon all parties.

For a full description of the conditions to the Offer, please see Annex A attached hereto. The foregoing summary of the conditions to the Offer does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the contents of Annex A attached hereto.

According to the Schedule TO, the principal executive offices of Purchaser are located at 1 DNA Way, Bldg. 82-MS24, South San Francisco, CA 94080 and its telephone number is (650) 225-1000. According to the Schedule TO, the principal executive offices of Roche are located at Grenzacherstrasse 124, CH-4070 Basel, Switzerland and its telephone number is +41-61-688-1111.

 

Item 3. Past Contacts, Transactions, Negotiations and Agreements.

Except as described in this Statement or in the excerpts from Illumina’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, dated as of, and filed with the SEC on, March 24, 2011 (the “2011 Proxy Statement”), relating to the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which excerpts are filed as Exhibit (e)(1) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference, to the knowledge of Illumina as of the date of this Statement, there are no material agreements, arrangements or understandings, nor any actual or potential conflict of interest between Illumina or its affiliates and (1) Illumina, its executive officers, directors or affiliates or (2) Roche, Purchaser or their respective executive officers, directors or affiliates. The excerpts filed as Exhibit (e)(1) to this Statement are incorporated herein by reference, and include the information from the following sections of the 2011 Proxy Statement: “Information About Directors,” “Director Compensation,” “Stock Ownership of Principal Stockholders and Management,” “Executive Officers,” “Compensation Discussion and Analysis,” “Executive Compensation,” “Compensation Committee Report,” “Equity Compensation Plan Information” and “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”

The information contained in “Item 4. The Solicitation or Recommendation” below is incorporated herein by reference.

 

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Any information contained in the excerpts from the 2011 Proxy Statement incorporated by reference herein shall be deemed modified or superseded for purposes of this Statement to the extent that any information contained herein modifies or supersedes such information.

Relationship with Roche and its Affiliates

According to the Schedule TO, as of January 27, 2012, Roche and Roche’s subsidiaries (including Purchaser) beneficially owned 100 Shares, representing less than 1% of the outstanding Shares.

Illumina, in the ordinary course of business, contemplates or enters into commercial arrangements with industry participants, including certain of Roche’s affiliates such as Genentech, Inc. and Roche Diagnostics Corporation.

Illumina and its affiliates compete with other companies that offer products and services for sequencing, genotyping, gene expression and molecular diagnostic markets, including Roche and its affiliates.

In connection with Dr. Gerald Möller’s former position as chairman of mtm laboratories AG, which was acquired by Roche in August 2011, Dr. Möller expects to receive a one-time payment based on the performance of mtm laboratories AG. In addition, as an employee of Roche until 1998, Dr. Möller is entitled to on-going payments from the Roche pension fund.

Consideration for Common Stock Tendered Pursuant to the Offer and Equity Awards Held

If the non-employee directors and the executive officers of Illumina were to tender Shares they own pursuant to the Offer, they would receive the same cash consideration for their Shares on the same terms and conditions as the other stockholders who tender their Shares for purchase in the Offer. As of January 31, 2012, Illumina’s non-employee directors and executive officers owned 1,551,347 Shares in the aggregate (excluding stock options and restricted stock units (“RSUs”) discussed below). Any outstanding Shares not tendered in the Offer may be converted in the Proposed Merger into the right to receive cash in an amount equal to the Offer price. In addition, the non-employee directors and executive officers of Illumina hold both vested and unvested stock options and RSUs with respect to the Shares. For a further description of the treatment of stock options and RSUs held by the directors and executive officers of Illumina, please see below under the heading “Effect of the Offer and the Proposed Merger on Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units.”

Effect of the Offer and the Proposed Merger on Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units

As of January 31, 2012, eight non-employee directors of Illumina held an aggregate of 698,156 stock options that have an exercise price less than the Offer price which were granted under the 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan, which is filed as Exhibit (e)(2) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference. As of January 31, 2012, eight non-employee directors of Illumina held an aggregate of 14,520 RSUs which were granted under the 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan. As of January 31, 2012, nine executive officers of Illumina held an aggregate of 3,463,544 stock options that have an exercise price less than the Offer price which were granted under the 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan and the New Hire Stock and Incentive Plan, which is filed as Exhibit (e)(3) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference (collectively, the “Plans”). As of January 31, 2012, nine executive officers of Illumina held an aggregate of 156,215 RSUs which were granted under the Plans. While the consummation of the Offer where the Minimum Tender Condition has been met will constitute a “corporate transaction” for purposes of the Plans, neither the consummation of such Offer nor the Proposed Merger will trigger any vesting or payment rights with respect to the stock options or the RSUs unless otherwise determined by the Board (or an authorized committee thereof). The Offer does not state whether or not the outstanding stock options and RSUs will be assumed or cashed-out pursuant to the Proposed Merger. However, if the Proposed Merger requires the cash-out of all outstanding stock options and RSUs, then presumably (1) in the case of a vested or unvested Illumina stock option having a per share exercise price less

 

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than the Offer price, the holder thereof will have the right to receive for each Share subject to such stock option an amount, subject to any applicable withholding tax, in cash equal to the product of (x) the number of Shares subject to such stock option and (y) the amount by which the Offer price exceeds the per share exercise price of such stock option, (2) in the case of any Illumina stock option having a per share exercise price equal to or greater than the Offer price, no payment will be made and (3) any RSU will be converted automatically into the right to receive an amount, subject to any applicable withholding tax, in cash equal to the product of (x) the total number of such Shares subject to such RSU and (y) the Offer price.

Other Potential Payments Upon Change of Control

Illumina has previously entered into change of control severance agreements with certain named executive officers, including each of Messrs. Jay T. Flatley, Christian O. Henry, Christian G. Cabou, Tristan B. Orpin, Mostafa Ronaghi and Marc A. Stapley. The provisions of the change of control severance agreements are substantially the same except for the agreement with Mr. Flatley. Please see “Item 8. Information Regarding Golden Parachute Compensation” below for a description of these agreements and information regarding the potential payments upon a change of control of Illumina to its named executive officers. In addition, Illumina has entered into change of control severance agreements with each of Messrs. Gregory F. Heath, Nicholas J. Naclerio and Matthew L. Posard. These agreements are substantially similar to the change of control agreements with the named executive officers. Under the change of control severance agreements, the executive would receive benefits if he were to be terminated within two years following a change of control of Illumina. The consummation of the Offer where the Minimum Tender Condition has been met will constitute a change of control of Illumina for purposes of the change of control severance agreements. The Form of Amended and Restated Change in Control Severance Agreement between Illumina and its executive officers (other than Mr. Flatley) is filed as Exhibit (e)(4) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference. The Amended and Restated Change in Control Severance Agreement between Illumina and Jay T. Flatley, dated as of October 22, 2008, is filed as Exhibit (e)(5) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference.

Illumina’s Deferred Compensation Plan effective December 1, 2007 (the “Deferred Compensation Plan”), which is filed as Exhibit (e)(6) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference, provides key employees and directors with an opportunity to defer a portion of their salary, bonus and other specified compensation. Messrs. Flatley, Henry, Cabou, Orpin, Ronaghi, Stapley and Naclerio participate in the Deferred Compensation Plan. Please see “Item 8. Information Regarding Golden Parachute Compensation” below for a description of the Deferred Compensation Plan and information regarding the potential payments upon a change of control of Illumina to its named executive officers. The consummation of the Offer where the Minimum Tender Condition has been met would be a change of control of Illumina for purposes of the Deferred Compensation Plan.

Based upon a hypothetical change of control date of January 27, 2012 (assuming that the consummation of the Offer and the Proposed Merger had been completed), the change of control benefits for Messrs. Heath, Naclerio and Posard would have been as follows if such executive officer experienced a termination on January 27, 2012:

 

Name

   Cash($)(1)      Equity($)(2)      Pension/
NQDC($)(3)
     Perquisites/
Benefits($)(4)
     Total($)(5)  

Gregory F. Heath

     858,470         1,860,660         —           38,188         2,757,318   

Nicholas J. Naclerio

     816,756         438,680         367,565         46,374         1,669,375   

Matthew L. Posard

     726,012         969,767         —           42,904         1,738,683   

 

(1)

Under the change of control severance agreements, upon a qualifying termination following a change of control, each of the named executive officers would be entitled to (i) a severance payment equal to one year of the executive’s annual base salary plus the greater of (a) the executive’s then-current annual target bonus or other target incentive amount or (b) the annual bonus or other incentive paid or payable to the executive for the most recently completed fiscal year (“Severance Payment”); and (ii) a lump sum payment of the

 

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  executive’s earned but unpaid compensation and a pro rata portion of the executive’s annual target bonus or other target incentive amount (“Earned Compensation”). Earned Compensation in the table above includes bonus payments for fiscal year 2011, which are scheduled to be paid in February 2012. Mr. Heath would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $639,138 and Earned Compensation equal to $219,332; Mr. Naclerio would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $621,269 and Earned Compensation equal to $195,486; and Mr. Posard would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $591,412 and Earned Compensation equal to $134,600.
(2) Under the change of control severance agreements, upon a qualifying termination following a change of control, all of the equity awards would vest. As of January 27, 2012, Mr. Heath had 140,053 unvested options and 12,179 unvested RSUs; Mr. Naclerio had 185,444 unvested options and 6,250 unvested RSUs; and Mr. Posard had 65,269 unvested options and 12,794 unvested RSUs. Fair market value of accelerated equity compensation includes the value of unvested and accelerated stock options and RSUs as of January 27, 2012. The value of the stock options was calculated by multiplying the number of accelerated options by the difference between the exercise price and $44.50 (the Purchaser’s proposed purchase price). The value of the RSUs is based on the number of outstanding shares that would not ordinarily have vested by January 27, 2012, multiplied by $44.50 (the Purchaser’s proposed purchase price).
(3) Under the Deferred Compensation Plan upon a separation from service within 24 months of a change of control, each named executive officer will be entitled to his or her retirement benefit or termination benefit in a lump sum payment equal to the unpaid balance of all of his or her accounts. All of the amounts for all of the named executive officers consist of the termination benefits.
(4) Represents payment of (i) the executive’s group health insurance coverage premiums under COBRA law, including coverage for executive’s eligible dependents enrolled immediately prior to termination, for a maximum period of one year and (ii) professional outplacement services for up to two years following termination ($10,800 per year for each executive officer).

The table above sets forth the amounts that each named executive officer would receive assuming that the consummation of the Offer had been completed and each named executive officer experienced a qualifying termination on January 27, 2012. All of the amounts included in the table above are only payable upon a change of control followed by a termination of employment (i.e., the payment is subject to a “double trigger”).

Illumina maintains the 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “ESPP”), which is filed as Exhibit (e)(7) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference, in which all employees that are employed by Illumina or any designated subsidiary (as such term is defined in the ESPP) who are treated as employees of Illumina for payroll tax purposes and who are customarily employed for at least 20 hours per week and more than five months in any calendar year are eligible to participate. In the event of a proposed sale of all or substantially all of the assets of Illumina, or the merger of Illumina with or into another corporation (a “change in control”), each outstanding ESPP purchase option could be assumed or an equivalent option substituted by the successor corporation or a parent or subsidiary of the successor corporation. In the event that the successor corporation refuses to assume or substitute for the ESPP purchase option, presumably any purchase periods then in progress shall be shortened to allow a final purchase prior to consummation of the Proposed Merger. The consummation of the Offer would not constitute a change in control for purposes of this plan. The Proposed Merger would constitute a change in control for purposes of this plan and hence each outstanding ESPP purchase option under the plan would, pursuant to the terms of the plan, be assumed by Purchaser or the current offering period will be shortened to allow for a final purchase.

Non-Employee Director Compensation

During fiscal year 2011, each of the non-employee directors of Illumina was eligible to receive an annual cash retainer of $50,000, and the Chairman of the Board was eligible to receive an additional $20,000. However, for fiscal year 2011, Paul C. Grint waived fees payable in cash for Board and committee service. In addition,

 

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during fiscal year 2011, each of the non-employee directors serving on one or more Board committees was eligible to receive the applicable fees set forth below.

 

     Audit Committee
($)
     Compensation
Committee($)
     Nominating/Corporate
Governance  Committee($)
     Diagnostics
Advisory
Committee($)
 

Chairperson

     25,000         15,000         12,500         12,500 (1) 

Member

     15,000         10,000         7,000         7,000 (1) 

 

(1) The Diagnostics Advisory Committee has only one member, who is also the Chairperson.

For the fiscal year ended on January 1, 2012, each non-employee director was granted options to purchase 10,800 Shares and received an award of 1,440 RSUs, which grant or award was made automatically on the date of the 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, which was held on May 10, 2011. Each stock option grant has an exercise price equal to the fair market value of Shares on the grant date. Both the stock options and the RSUs vest on the earlier of (1) the one year anniversary of the grant date of the option or award date of the RSU and (2) the date immediately preceding the date of the annual meeting of stockholders for the year following the year of grant of the option or award of the RSU. Upon first joining the Board, each non-employee director is eligible to receive a one-time grant of options to purchase 28,000 Shares and an award of 4,000 RSUs, which grant or award is to be made automatically on the date the individual becomes a director, whether by stockholder approval or appointment by the Board, with a stock option exercise price equal to the fair market value of Shares on the grant date. Both the stock options and the RSUs will vest over a four-year period, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the grant or award and the remaining portion vesting monthly over the following 36 months. Directors who receive RSUs are given the opportunity, at the time they execute award agreements providing for the RSU award, to elect to receive, at the time the RSU vests, a portion of the award in cash rather than in Shares in order to enable the director to satisfy his or her obligation to pay the federal income tax that becomes due at the time of such vesting.

Non-employee directors may elect to receive Shares in lieu of all, but not less than all, cash retainers and Board committee fees otherwise payable by Illumina to such director in a given calendar year. Shares issued to an eligible director electing to receive cash compensation in the form of Shares will not be subject to vesting or forfeiture restrictions and will be issued on a quarterly basis. The number of Shares issued to an eligible director electing to receive Shares in lieu of cash compensation will equal the amount of cash compensation otherwise payable by Illumina to such director for the immediately preceding calendar quarter, divided by the weighted average closing price of Shares during the immediately preceding calendar quarter (calculated by reference to each trading day during such quarter). No fractional Shares will be issued, and in lieu of fractional Shares, Illumina will pay to such electing director an amount in cash equal to any such fractional Share multiplied by the weighted average closing price of Shares during the immediately preceding calendar quarter (calculated by reference to each trading day during such quarter).

Indemnification of Directors and Officers

Illumina is organized under the laws of Delaware. Pursuant to Section 145 of the DGCL, a corporation may indemnify a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation (or other entity if such person is serving in such capacity at the corporation’s request) against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the corporation), if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the corporation and, with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful. In the case of an action brought by or in the right of a corporation, the corporation may indemnify a director, officer, employee, or agent of the corporation (or other entity if such person is serving in such capacity at the corporation’s request) against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by the person if the person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the

 

9


best interests of the corporation, except that no indemnification shall be made in respect of any claim, issue, or matter as to which such person shall have been adjudged to be liable to the corporation unless the Court of Chancery of the State of Delaware or the court in which such action or suit was brought determines that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnification for such expenses as the court shall deem proper. Expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding may be paid by the corporation in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of such director or officer to repay such amount if it shall ultimately be determined that the person is not entitled to be indemnified by the corporation.

Consistent with Section 145 of the DGCL, the Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation of Illumina (the “Charter”) provides that Illumina shall indemnify to the fullest extent permitted by law any person made or threatened to be made a party to an action or proceeding, whether criminal, civil, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that such person or his or her testator or intestate is or was a director or officer of Illumina, or any predecessor of Illumina, or serves or served at any other enterprise as a director, officer or employee at the request of Illumina or any predecessor to Illumina. Consistent with Section 145 of the DGCL, the Bylaws of Illumina, dated as of April 22, 2010 (the “Bylaws”), provide that Illumina shall, to the maximum extent and in the manner permitted by the DGCL, indemnify each of its directors and officers against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines, settlements and other amounts actually and reasonably incurred in connection with any proceeding, arising by reason of the fact that such person is or was an agent of Illumina. The Bylaws provide that, for the purpose of the immediately preceding sentence, a “director” or “officer” of Illumina includes any person (1) who is or was a director or officer of Illumina, (2) who is or was serving at the request of Illumina as a director or officer of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise or (3) who was a director or officer of a corporation which was a predecessor corporation of Illumina or of another enterprise at the request of such predecessor corporation.

Illumina has entered into indemnification agreements with each of its directors and executive officers pursuant to which Illumina has agreed to indemnify such directors and executive officers to the fullest extent permitted by law in connection with certain claims that may arise generally relating to such persons acting in their capacities as directors or executive officers. These indemnification agreements contain procedural provisions as well as protections in the event of a change of control. The Form of Indemnification Agreement between Illumina and each of its directors and executive officers is filed as Exhibit (e)(8) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference.

In accordance with Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL, the Charter provides that, to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, a director of the corporation shall not be personally liable to Illumina or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director.

The Bylaws provide that Illumina may purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of any person who is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of Illumina, or is or was serving at the request of Illumina as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against any liability asserted against him and incurred by him in any such capacity, or arising out of his status as such, whether or not Illumina would have the power to indemnify him against such liability under the provisions of the DGCL.

Illumina maintains directors’ and officers’ liability insurance which insures against liabilities that directors and officers of Illumina may incur in such capacities.

 

Item 4. The Solicitation or Recommendation.

Recommendation

After careful consideration, including a thorough review of the terms and conditions of the Offer with Illumina’s financial and outside legal advisors, the Board, by unanimous vote of all of its directors at a meeting held on February 7, 2012, determined that the Offer is inadequate to holders of Shares and that the Offer is not in

 

10


the best interests of Illumina or its stockholders. The Board believes that the Offer undervalues Illumina’s business and does not adequately reflect the true value of Illumina’s unique market position and business opportunities and that the interests of stockholders will be best served by Illumina continuing to pursue its independent strategic plan. Accordingly, and for the other reasons described in more detail below, the Board recommends that you REJECT the Offer and NOT TENDER your Shares pursuant to the Offer. Please see “Item 4. The Solicitation or Recommendation – Reasons for Recommendation” below for further detail.

If you have tendered any of your Shares, you can withdraw them. For assistance in withdrawing your Shares, you can contact your broker or Illumina’s information agent, Innisfree M&A Incorporated (“Innisfree”), at the contact information below.

Innisfree M&A Incorporated

501 Madison Avenue, 20th Floor

New York, NY 10022

Shareholders May Call Toll-Free: (888) 750-5835

Banks & Brokers May Call Collect: (212) 750-5833

A copy of a letter to stockholders communicating the Board’s recommendation is filed as Exhibit (a)(10) to this Statement and incorporated herein by reference.

Background of the Offer

On November 1, 2011, at the request of Dr. Arthur D. Levinson, a member of Roche’s board of directors, Dr. William Rastetter, Illumina’s Chairman of the Board, and Dr. Levinson spoke telephonically, during which conversation Dr. Levinson informed Dr. Rastetter of Roche’s desire to make an equity investment in Illumina and to work with Illumina in the field of sequencing-based molecular diagnostics. Dr. Levinson highlighted the leadership position that Illumina occupies in the sequencing field and described the relative weakness of Roche’s technology in such field. Dr. Levinson proposed an in-person meeting with Dr. Rastetter and Dr. Franz Humer, the Chairman of Roche, to discuss further the topics raised during the telephone call. Dr. Rastetter agreed to arrange the meeting.

On December 13, 2011, Dr. Rastetter and Mr. Jay T. Flatley, Illumina’s President and Chief Executive Officer, met with Dr. Humer and Dr. Levinson in La Jolla, California, anticipating that the topic of discussion at the meeting would be a possible equity investment by Roche in Illumina or a diagnostic partnership. During the meeting, Dr. Humer expressed Roche’s interest in acquiring Illumina. Dr. Humer stated that Roche would prefer to acquire Illumina on friendly terms, but neither Dr. Humer nor Dr. Levinson offered any indication of what price Roche was interested in paying in order to acquire Illumina. Dr. Rastetter and Mr. Flatley indicated that they were not prepared to respond to such an indication of interest at that meeting and that they would contact Dr. Humer after consulting with the Board. At the same meeting, Dr. Humer expressed his desire to begin a process of sharing confidential information and stated that he would instruct Roche’s legal counsel to prepare and deliver a draft of a nondisclosure agreement (an “NDA”) in order to facilitate that process. Dr. Humer requested feedback before year end regarding Illumina’s interest in a transaction.

On December 14, 2011, the Board convened telephonically along with management and Illumina’s outside legal counsel, Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP (“Dewey”), to discuss the meeting of December 13, 2011, and Roche’s indication of interest in acquiring Illumina. At that telephonic Board meeting, Dr. Rastetter and Mr. Flatley described for the Board their meeting with Dr. Humer and Dr. Levinson, and Dewey summarized for the Board Roche’s acquisition history, including its unsolicited acquisition of Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (“Ventana Medical”) in 2007, reminded the Board of Illumina’s takeover defenses and highlighted for the Board certain alternative responses to Roche. Mr. Flatley also reported to the Board recent developments in Illumina’s business. The Board determined that in order to fully evaluate Roche’s indication of interest and any future related proposals to acquire Illumina, among other things, Illumina should hire a financial advisor and the Board should review Illumina’s updated strategic plan and forecasts. Management suggested that Illumina contact Illumina’s long time financial advisor, Goldman, Sachs & Co. (“Goldman Sachs”), who had served as lead

 

11


underwriter in connection with Illumina’s initial public offering, had been engaged by Illumina in a variety of subsequent transactions and contexts and had extensive familiarity with Illumina and its business. The Board concurred with management’s suggestion and asked management to contact Goldman Sachs. The Board also approved the establishment of a Transactions Committee, which committee consists of Dr. Rastetter, Mr. Flatley, Mr. A. Blaine Bowman and Mr. Daniel M. Bradbury, to assist the Board in considering any acquisition proposals from Roche and any transactions that may be considered as alternatives to Roche’s indication of interest. Pursuant to the Transactions Committee Charter, which was distributed to the members of the Board on December 23, 2011, and subsequently approved by the Board, the Board charged the Transactions Committee with, among other things, reviewing proposals relating to, and, if appropriate, negotiating, transactions involving Illumina and Roche or other parties, making recommendations to the Board with respect to such transactions and engaging, or causing Illumina to engage, financial advisors, counsel and other advisors as the Transactions Committee determines necessary or appropriate in connection with such transactions, and approving the fees and other terms of retention of any such financial advisors, counsel and other advisors.

Later on December 14, 2011, management contacted representatives of Goldman Sachs to discuss the possibility of Goldman Sachs acting as Illumina’s financial advisor to assist the Board in its consideration of the indication of interest and any subsequent acquisition proposals from Roche and related matters. During the call, representatives of Goldman Sachs reminded management of Goldman Sachs’ position as counterparty to certain derivatives transactions with Illumina entered into in connection with Illumina’s convertible bond offering in February 2007, which derivatives transactions are described in more detail in “Item 5. Persons/Assets Retained, Employed, Compensated or Used – Derivative Transactions” below, and that the Board would need to be fully informed regarding such transactions and any appearance of a conflict that might arise therefrom if Goldman Sachs were to be engaged as financial advisor.

On December 16, 2011, Dewey received a draft of an NDA by email from Roche’s outside legal counsel, Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP (“Davis Polk”). Among other things, the draft NDA did not contain a “standstill” provision that would prevent Roche from, among other things, making an offer directly to Illumina’s stockholders without the consent of the Board.

On December 20, 2011, Dr. Humer contacted Mr. Flatley telephonically to inquire about the Board’s reaction to Roche’s indication of interest. Mr. Flatley told Dr. Humer that the Board intended to consult financial advisors to help the Board in assessing any in-bound acquisition proposals, including Roche’s indication of interest. Dr. Humer reiterated Roche’s desire to pursue an acquisition of Illumina and suggested that Roche would be willing to pay a premium of 50% per Share, without specifying the base price to which such premium would apply. Mr. Flatley told Dr. Humer that he was unable to respond to Roche’s revised indication of interest at that time and that he would promptly report such indication of interest to the Board.

On December 22, 2011, Goldman Sachs met with management of Illumina to discuss Roche’s indication of interest and Goldman Sachs’ position as counterparty to the derivatives transactions, as described in “Item 5. Persons/Assets Retained, Employed, Compensated or Used – Derivative Transactions” below.

On December 23, 2011, the Board convened telephonically along with management and outside legal counsel to consider Roche’s latest indication of interest. Mr. Flatley reported to the Board the matters discussed with Dr. Humer on December 20, 2011, including Roche’s indication of interest to acquire Illumina for a premium of 50% per Share over an unspecified base Share price. Mr. Flatley also reviewed with the Board certain preliminary discussions with Goldman Sachs with respect to the possibility of Goldman Sachs acting as Illumina’s financial advisor, and discussed with the Board the fact that, if a transaction with Roche or another party were to be consummated, certain of the derivatives transactions with Illumina to which Goldman Sachs was a counterparty would be cancelled and Goldman Sachs would be entitled to receive a payment from Illumina in connection with the early cancellation of such transactions. The Board discussed possible ways in which to address this issue, including by engaging a financial advisor other than Goldman Sachs or engaging another financial advisor to act as co-advisor with Goldman Sachs, and asked management to provide the Board with additional information to assist the Board to better assess the issue, including additional information about the derivatives transactions to which Goldman Sachs is counterparty and the potential payments Goldman Sachs

 

12


would be entitled to receive from Illumina in connection with the early cancellation of certain such derivatives transactions if a transaction with Roche or another party were to be consummated. The Board also authorized Mr. Flatley to schedule a call with Dr. Humer between December 25, 2011 and January 1, 2012 to follow up on their December 20, 2011 conversation.

On the same day, following the conclusion of the December 23, 2011 telephonic Board meeting, Mr. Flatley contacted Dr. Humer to schedule a telephone call after December 25, 2011. After a series of email exchanges between Mr. Flatley and Dr. Humer, a call was scheduled for the morning of December 28, 2011.

On December 28, 2011, Mr. Flatley and Dr. Humer spoke telephonically as scheduled. Mr. Flatley indicated to Dr. Humer that the Board was evaluating Roche’s indication of interest within the context of the Board’s fiduciary duties to Illumina’s stockholders and, to that end, Illumina was continuing the process of selecting and engaging qualified financial advisors to assist the Board in fully evaluating Roche’s indication of interest. Mr. Flatley also told Dr. Humer that Roche’s legal counsel could expect a response to the draft of the NDA circulated earlier by Davis Polk by the end of the week or early the following week. In addition, Mr. Flatley indicated that the next meeting of the Board was scheduled for the end of January, but, due to the importance of the issue at hand, Illumina was attempting to schedule an in-person Board meeting prior to that date.

On January 3, 2012, Dr. Humer sent a letter electronically to Dr. Rastetter and Mr. Flatley setting forth a proposal to acquire Illumina at a price of $40 per Share in cash, subject to certain conditions, including satisfactory completion of due diligence. A copy of the letter is set forth below:

January 3, 2012

Mr. William Rastetter, Chairman

Mr. Jay Flatley, President and Chief Executive Officer

Illumina, Inc.

9885 Towne Centre Drive

San Diego, CA 92121

Dear Bill,

Dear Jay,

Thank you very much for meeting with me on December 13 and for our subsequent telephone conversations on December 21 and December 28. However, I am disappointed that we have not been able to engage more substantively since our meeting, and with that in mind, I am writing to be specific about our proposal. I hope this additional information will be helpful to you and your Board and accelerate discussions between our companies. Accordingly, on behalf of Roche, I would like to formally propose to you and your Board an all-cash offer to acquire 100% of the issued and outstanding shares of Illumina’s common stock for $40.00 per share. This price represents a significant premium of 47% over Illumina’s closing stock price on December 21, the day before market rumors about a potential deal involving our companies drove Illumina’s stock price significantly higher. It also represents a 45% premium over the one month historical average and a 29% premium over the three month historical average of Illumina’s share price and a 28.6x multiple of Illumina’s projected forward earnings based upon analysts’ consensus estimates for your 2012 EPS.

We believe that the price we are offering is full and fair and expect that your shareholders would welcome the opportunity to sell their shares at a significant premium to current market prices. Our offer would be financed using cash from our balance sheet and borrowings available under our current credit facilities, and consequently, it is not subject to any financing contingency. We trust that you and your Board will agree that the transaction we are proposing is highly attractive.

We are mindful that you and your management team have contributed greatly to Illumina’s success. Roche contemplates continued employment of Illumina’s management and other employees following the consummation of a transaction and we are prepared to work with you to develop mutually satisfactory employment arrangements. We intend to continue the Illumina legacy as a standalone division under the Illumina brand, similar to the manner in which Roche has successfully

 

13


developed its post-acquisition relationship with Ventana Medical. To that end, we also intend to maintain the company’s headquarters in San Diego.

It is our preference to work with you and the Illumina Board to reach a mutually agreeable transaction. As explained during our December 13 meeting, we would like to engage in constructive dialogue with you and members of your team to jointly develop an optimal strategy for maximizing the value of our combined businesses. We believe that it is in the interest of both companies and your shareholders that we begin this dialogue immediately. Roche and its financial and legal advisors (Greenhill & Co., LLC, Citigroup Global Markets, and Davis Polk & Wardwell) stand ready to meet with you and your advisors immediately.

With our advisors, we have crafted this proposal on the basis of publicly available information. In order to consummate a transaction, we would need to complete satisfactory confirmatory due diligence and negotiate mutually acceptable transaction documentation. Accordingly, we do not believe that disclosure of this letter by Illumina or Roche is required. We intend to treat this letter as confidential and trust that you will do the same.

Given the significant value represented by our offer, as well as the implied premium, we are confident that your shareholders will support our proposal. Furthermore, we believe this offer positions you, your employees and your other stakeholders for greater long-term success as part of a larger, more global organization. We truly hope that this letter will serve as a catalyst for prompt and productive discussions between our two companies. In view of the elapsed time since our December 13 meeting, I look forward to the response from you and your Board by January 16, 2012, and would ask that you or your advisors direct your response to Bob Greenhill (Chairman of Greenhill & Co., LLC) and Chris Hite (Global Head of Healthcare Investment Banking for Citigroup Global Markets, Inc.).

Very truly yours,

/s/ Franz B. Humer

Franz B. Humer

Chairman, Roche Holding Ltd

On January 3, 2012, in response to Dr. Humer’s January 3 letter, Mr. Flatley sent Dr. Humer an email confirming that he had received Dr. Humer’s letter and stating that Illumina was in the process of rescheduling the Board meeting for an earlier date to address Roche’s acquisition proposal.

On January 5, 2012, Dr. Humer sent an email to Mr. Flatley requesting that Illumina’s financial advisors contact Roche’s financial advisors (Greenhill & Co. (“Greenhill”) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“Citi”)) in advance of the meeting of the Board.

Also on January 5, 2012, Illumina’s Transactions Committee met in person in La Jolla, California to consider the selection of Illumina’s financial advisors. At the meeting, representatives of Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated (“BofA Merrill Lynch”) and a second financial advisory firm delivered separate presentations to the Board regarding, among other things, their respective qualifications, experience and expertise, Illumina’s current market position and Roche’s acquisition proposal. After discussion, Illumina’s Transactions Committee approved the selection of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch as Illumina’s financial advisors with respect to any acquisition proposals from Roche and any transactions that may be considered as alternatives to such acquisition proposals, subject to negotiation of acceptable terms and, in connection with the engagement of Goldman Sachs, further review by the Board of Goldman Sachs’ position as counterparty to the derivatives transactions, as described in “Item 5. Persons/Assets Retained, Employed, Compensated or Used” below. Among the reasons for selecting Goldman Sachs, the Transactions Committee noted Goldman Sachs’ familiarity with Illumina and its business (including as a result of Goldman Sachs having been the lead underwriter in Illumina’s initial public offering and having been engaged by Illumina in a variety of subsequent transactions and contexts), experience in the life sciences and diagnostics sectors and experience advising companies in the context of unsolicited takeover proposals, including its engagement by Ventana Medical in 2007 in connection with the unsolicited offer from Roche and its engagement by Genentech, Inc. in

 

14


2008 in connection with an unsolicited offer from Roche. Among the reasons for selecting BofA Merrill Lynch, the Transactions Committee noted BofA Merrill Lynch’s experience advising companies in the context of unsolicited takeover proposals, including its engagement by Ventana Medical in 2007 in connection with an unsolicited offer from Roche, BofA Merrill Lynch’s ability to provide financial assistance to Illumina with respect to Goldman Sachs’ position as counterparty to Illumina in connection with certain derivatives transactions, as described in “Item 5. Persons/Assets Retained, Employed, Compensated or Used – Derivative Transactions” below, the limited scope of BofA Merrill Lynch’s relationships with Roche and BofA Merrill Lynch’s familiarity with Illumina and its business given BofA Merrill Lynch’s service as an advisor to Illumina in past strategic transactions.

On January 6, 2012, Mr. Flatley contacted Dr. Humer and informed him that Illumina had intended to engage Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch as its financial advisors and suggested that Roche’s financial advisors arrange a call with Goldman Sachs. Mr. Flatley also informed Dr. Humer that a meeting of the Board to consider Roche’s acquisition proposal had been scheduled for January 17, 2012.

On January 9, 2012, representatives of Goldman Sachs participated in a telephonic conference call with representatives of Greenhill and Citi. The representatives of Greenhill and Citi inquired about what Mr. Flatley intended to announce at the JPMorgan Global Health Care Conference scheduled for the following day (January 10, 2012), and communicated Roche’s dissatisfaction with the speed of Illumina’s response and the level of Illumina’s engagement in discussions with Roche. The representatives of Goldman Sachs responded that Illumina was carefully considering Roche’s acquisition proposal and confirmed that a meeting of the Board was scheduled for January 17, 2012.

On January 10, 2012, Illumina attended the JPMorgan Global Health Care Conference, at which Illumina announced the launch of the HiSeq 2500, a system capable of sequencing a genome in a day, and enhancements to the MiSeq system. Illumina also announced preliminary financial results for the fourth quarter of 2011 and that its 2012 forecasts would be in line with or exceed analysts’ expectations as of that date.

On January 11, 2012, Dewey sent to Davis Polk an NDA that contained more customary terms for a negotiated transaction, including a two-year “standstill” provision.

On January 13, 2012, representatives of Greenhill and Citi participated in another telephonic conference call with representatives of Goldman Sachs, during which the participants discussed the announcements that took place at the J.P. Morgan Global Health Care Conference. Representatives of Greenhill and Citi also conveyed that Roche was not amenable to the NDA sent to Davis Polk on January 11, 2012, and that they would contact Goldman Sachs again after the Board meeting scheduled for January 17, 2012 for an update.

On January 15, 2012, the Board held a special meeting (with some Board members participating telephonically), along with Illumina’s financial and outside legal advisors, to review and discuss a draft of Illumina’s long-term strategic plan and forecasts, and the Board provided feedback on the draft to management.

On the morning of January 17, 2012, a representative of Dewey contacted a representative of Davis Polk regarding Illumina’s proposed NDA. The representative of Davis Polk indicated that Roche had a number of issues with the NDA, including with Illumina’s request for a “standstill.” The discussion concluded with a representative of Davis Polk indicating that it was his understanding that next steps would involve a discussion between the financial advisors for Illumina and Roche following Illumina’s Board meeting scheduled for January 17, 2012.

Later that morning on January 17, 2012, the Board held its previously scheduled special meeting to consider and evaluate Roche’s proposal to acquire Illumina for $40 per Share. At this meeting, five members attended in person and four members attended telephonically. At the outset of the meeting, representatives of Dewey provided an overview to the Board of the Board’s fiduciary duties to Illumina’s stockholders, including with respect to evaluating an unsolicited proposal to acquire all of the outstanding Shares, such as the one received from Roche. The Board then received from Illumina’s management and counsel additional information regarding

 

15


prior representations by Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch of Roche and regarding any proprietary holdings of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch in securities of Roche and Illumina. At the request of management, and outside the presence of Goldman Sachs, representatives of BofA Merrill Lynch then led a discussion regarding Goldman Sachs’ position as a counterparty to Illumina in connection with certain derivatives transactions, as described in “Item 5. Persons/Assets Retained, Employed, Compensated or Used – Derivative Transactions” below, including the possible valuation of Goldman Sachs’ net position in respect of such transactions, and the potential payments Goldman Sachs would be entitled to receive from Illumina in connection with the early cancellation of certain such derivatives transactions if a transaction with Roche or another party were to be consummated. After discussion regarding the nature and amount of such derivatives transactions and any appearance of a conflict that might arise therefrom, and after taking into account the factors considered by the Transactions Committee at its January 5 meeting, the Board confirmed the engagement of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch as financial advisors to Illumina. Following the approval of the engagement of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch as financial advisors to Illumina, representatives of both Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch delivered separate presentations to the Board regarding certain financial analyses related to Roche’s acquisition proposal. Representatives of Dewey, Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch addressed various related questions raised by the Board. The Board considered Illumina’s business, financial condition and prospects, the terms of Roche’s acquisition proposal, the nature and timing of Roche’s acquisition proposal, Illumina’s strategic plan and other business opportunities. After discussion, the Board determined that Roche’s acquisition proposal of $40 per Share was not in the best interests of Illumina’s stockholders and grossly undervalued Illumina.

On January 18, 2012, Mr. Flatley emailed Dr. Humer to schedule a call to provide feedback from the January 17th Board meeting. After a series of email exchanges, a call was scheduled for January 19, 2012.

On January 19, 2012, Mr. Flatley and Dr. Humer spoke telephonically. Mr. Flatley reported that the Board had met on January 17, 2012 and had determined it was not in the best interests of Illumina’s stockholders to pursue Roche’s acquisition proposal. Following the call, Mr. Flatley sent the following letter to Dr. Humer electronically:

January 18, 2012

Via Email

Mr. Franz B. Humer

Chairman of the Board

Roche Holding Ltd.

Grenzacherstrasse 124

4070 Basel

Switzerland

Re: Roche’s proposal of January 3, 2012

Dear Franz:

As I had previously indicated would occur, our Board of Directors and financial and legal advisors met yesterday. We carefully considered your proposal to acquire Illumina, dated January 3, 2012, and additionally reviewed in detail our strategic plan and business forecasts. The Board is enthusiastic about our business and its prospects, and has unanimously determined that your proposal is not in the best interests of our shareholders.

We remain very excited about our strategic direction and our commitment to Molecular Diagnostics, and we will continue to focus on delivering value to our shareholders.

Sincerely,

/s/ Jay T. Flatley

Jay T. Flatley

President & CEO

 

16


Also on January 19, 2012, following Dr. Humer’s receipt of Mr. Flatley’s letter, representatives of Greenhill and Citi participated in a telephonic conference call with representatives of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch, during which, after inquiries from the representatives of Greenhill and Citi, the Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch representatives stated that they did not have anything to add beyond the content of Mr. Flatley’s letter.

On January 24, 2012, Dr. Humer contacted Dr. Rastetter telephonically, during which conversation Dr. Humer stated that Roche was disappointed with the Board’s decision and that Roche had decided to increase its offer to $44.50 per Share and to simultaneously make that offer public. Minutes after the call, Dr. Humer sent the following letter to Mr. Flatley electronically:

January 24, 2012

Mr. Jay Flatley

President and Chief Executive Officer

Illumina, Inc.

5200 Illumina Way

San Diego, CA 92122

USA

Dear Jay,

While I appreciate the time you have taken to speak with me over the course of the last several weeks, the lack of any substantive progress in our efforts to negotiate a business combination between Illumina and Roche, and your January 18 letter confirming your Board’s lack of interest in such a transaction, has led us to decide to publicly disclose our proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina at a price of $44.50 per share in cash. Accordingly, we will make this letter public simultaneously with my sending it to you.

Roche’s offer price of $44.50 per share in cash represents a substantial premium to Illumina’s unaffected market prices: a premium of 64% over Illumina’s closing stock price on December 21, 2011 – the day before market rumors about a potential transaction between Roche and Illumina drove Illumina’s stock price significantly higher – a 61% premium over the one month historical average and a 43% premium over the three month historical average of Illumina’s share price, both as of December 21. It also represents a 30.1x multiple of Illumina’s projected forward earnings based upon analysts’ current consensus estimates for 2012.

This is a compelling offer and we are confident that your stockholders will find it extremely attractive. We hope that your Board will now take the opportunity to negotiate a transaction that will allow your shareholders to realize this substantial value.

We believe that our proposal presents a unique opportunity for Roche and Illumina and their respective stockholders and Roche believes that it is imperative to continue to pursue this matter. The price, with the large premium it represents, is a full and fair one.

We have available cash on our balance sheet and borrowings under our credit facilities to complete the transaction and we therefore will not require a financing condition.

As I have expressed to you previously, we are mindful that you and your management team have contributed greatly to Illumina’s success. Roche contemplates continued employment of Illumina’s management and employees following the consummation of a transaction and we are prepared to work with you to develop mutually satisfactory employment arrangements. We intend to continue the Illumina legacy within the Roche Diagnostics Division, and to maintain the Illumina brand. To that end, we intend to combine our existing Roche Applied Science business with Illumina and move the business area’s headquarters to San Diego, California. We believe this approach should be attractive to your management and employees.

 

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Roche has attempted to engage Illumina’s management and Board of Directors in a discussion on the merits of a business combination. Unfortunately, Illumina has been unwilling to engage in any meaningful dialogue on this matter. Therefore, while Roche continues to prefer a negotiated transaction with Illumina, Roche intends to promptly commence a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash. Additionally, in view of your Board’s response, we plan to nominate a slate of directors and make certain other proposals for the consideration of shareholders at Illumina’s 2012 annual meeting which, if adopted, would result in Roche-nominated directors comprising a majority of your Board.

We have engaged Greenhill & Co., LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as financial advisors and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as legal counsel to assist in completing this transaction. If you are willing to fully engage with us, we and our advisors are ready to meet with your representatives at any time to discuss this proposal and to answer any questions you have. We believe that time is of the essence and are prepared to move forward expeditiously by committing all necessary resources to complete a transaction promptly. If you are interested in discussing a possible negotiated transaction, please contact me as soon as possible.

Very truly yours,

/s/ Dr. Franz B. Humer

Dr. Franz B. Humer

Chairman, Roche Holding Ltd

That same evening on January 24, 2012, Roche issued a press release announcing its proposal to acquire all outstanding Shares of Illumina for $44.50 per Share. The press release also included the full text of Dr. Humer’s January 24 letter to Mr. Flatley and noted that Roche intends to promptly commence a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding Shares for $44.50 per Share in cash, to nominate a slate of candidates for election to the Board and to propose certain other matters for the consideration of Illumina’s stockholders at Illumina’s 2012 annual meeting, which, if adopted, would result in Roche-nominated directors comprising a majority of the Board.

On the evening of January 24, 2012, Illumina issued a press release in which it stated that consistent with the Board’s fiduciary duties and responsibilities, and in consultation with its financial and outside legal advisors, the Board will thoroughly review Roche’s acquisition proposal and make a recommendation to stockholders in due course that the Board believes is in the best interests of Illumina stockholders. The press release also advised Illumina stockholders to take no action at this time pending the Board’s recommendation.

The Board convened telephonically the following morning on January 25, 2012, along with management and Illumina’s financial and outside legal advisors, to discuss Roche’s press release and certain related matters, including the possible adoption by Illumina of a stockholder rights agreement. The Board received a presentation from representatives of Dewey and representatives of Illumina’s Delaware counsel, Abrams & Bayliss LLP, as well as from Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch, regarding the legal, financial and other implications of adopting a stockholder rights agreement, including regarding the Board’s fiduciary duties in adopting such a stockholder rights agreement in response to an unsolicited proposal to acquire all of the Shares, such as the one received from Roche. The discussion of the stockholder rights agreement was consistent with similar discussions the Board had on previous occasions. The Board determined that, in order to ensure that Illumina’s stockholders receive fair treatment and protection in connection with any proposal or offer to acquire Illumina, including the acquisition proposal announced by Roche, and to provide stockholders with adequate time to properly assess any such proposal or offer without undue pressure while also safeguarding their opportunity to realize the long-term value of their investment in Illumina, it was in the best interests of Illumina and its stockholders to adopt a stockholder rights agreement. Another Board meeting was scheduled for later in the day on January 25, 2012, during which the specific terms of the stockholder rights agreement would be discussed and considered.

 

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On the evening of January 25, 2012, the Board again convened telephonically, along with management and Illumina’s financial and outside legal advisors, to further discuss the terms of the stockholder rights agreement. Representatives of Dewey delivered a presentation to the Board and answered questions regarding the legal implications of various provisions of the stockholder rights agreement. Representatives of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch delivered presentations to the Board regarding certain market practices and financial considerations with respect to those provisions. Subsequently, the Board determined that it was in the best interests of Illumina and its stockholders that the Board adopt a stockholder rights agreement with the terms and provisions discussed with representatives of Goldman Sachs, BofA Merrill Lynch and Dewey. The Board then adopted the Rights Agreement.

On January 26, 2012, Illumina issued a press release announcing that it had adopted the Rights Agreement.

The following morning on January 27, 2012, Roche commenced its unsolicited tender offer at a price of $44.50 per Share in cash.

On January 27, 2012, Illumina issued a press release that confirmed the commencement by Roche of an unsolicited tender offer for the Shares and stated that, as indicated following Roche’s announcement of its acquisition proposal on January 24, 2012, the Board, consistent with its fiduciary duties and in consultation with its financial and outside legal advisors, will thoroughly review the offer to determine a course of action that it believes is in the best interests of Illumina’s stockholders and will advise stockholders of its formal position with respect to the tender offer within 10 business days, and again advised that Illumina’s stockholders take no action at this time pending the Board’s recommendation.

On January 31, 2012, Roche submitted to Illumina a notice of its nomination of a slate of four nominees for election to the Board at Illumina’s 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and five alternate nominees, and a proposal, among other proposals, to increase the size of the Board from nine members to eleven members. If such proposal is approved by Illumina’s stockholders, such notice provides for the nomination of a slate of an additional two directors to fill the two newly created directorships. Later that day, Illumina issued a press release that confirmed Roche’s submission, and indicated, among other things, that the current Board consists of nine highly qualified directors (including eight independent directors and Mr. Flatley, who, in addition to his executive titles, is a substantial Illumina stockholder) and that the Board will continue to act independently and in the best interests of Illumina’s stockholders.

On February 2, 2012, the Board held its regularly scheduled quarterly meeting. At the outset of the meeting, representatives of Dewey provided an overview to the Board of the Board’s fiduciary duties to Illumina’s stockholders in responding to an unsolicited acquisition proposal, such as the one received from Roche, and an unsolicited tender offer, such as the one commenced by Roche. During the meeting, the Board reviewed and discussed with Illumina’s management Illumina’s updated long-term strategic plan and forecasts and current market conditions, after which the Board approved the strategic plan and forecasts. Following such approval, representatives of both Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch each separately delivered presentations to the Board regarding their respective financial analyses related to the Offer and representatives of Dewey, Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch addressed various questions and topics of discussion raised by the Board related to the Offer. The Board, together with representatives of Dewey, Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch, also discussed Roche’s notice of nomination and other proposals and Illumina’s 2012 Annual Meeting of Stockholders. After representatives of Goldman Sachs withdrew from the meeting, representatives of BofA Merrill Lynch delivered an update regarding Goldman Sachs’ position as counterparty to Illumina in connection with certain derivatives transactions, as described in “Item 5. Persons/Assets Retained, Employed, Compensated or Used – Derivative Transactions” below. After representatives of BofA Merrill Lynch withdrew from the meeting, the Board adopted a resolution deferring the “Distribution Date” that would result under the Rights Agreement from the public announcements(s) and action(s) of Roche or any of its affiliates until such time, if ever, that the Board determines to eliminate such deferral, and a resolution instructing management not to disclose the possible terms of certain transactions or proposals, including those relating to an acquisition of, or other business combination involving, Illumina, or the parties thereto, unless and until an agreement in principle relating thereto has been reached or, upon the advice of counsel, as may otherwise be required by law.

 

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During the morning of February 7, 2012, the Board again convened telephonically, along with management and Illumina’s financial and outside legal advisors, to evaluate and consider the Offer. At the outset of the meeting, representatives of Dewey provided an overview to the Board of the Board’s fiduciary duties to Illumina’s stockholders in responding to an unsolicited acquisition proposal, such as the one received from Roche, and an unsolicited tender offer, such as the one commenced by Roche. During this meeting, Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch each separately updated their respective financial analyses provided at the Board meeting of February 2, 2012 and rendered an oral opinion to the Board, subsequently confirmed in writing, that as of February 7, 2012 and based upon and subject to the factors and assumptions set forth in the written opinions, the consideration proposed to be paid to the holders of Shares (other than the Purchaser and its affiliates) pursuant to the Offer was inadequate from a financial point of view to such holders. 1 The Board considered Illumina’s business, financial conditions and prospects, the terms of the Offer, the nature and timing of the Offer, Illumina’s strategic plan and other business opportunities and the inadequacy opinions of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch. After discussion, the Board unanimously determined that the Offer is inadequate to holders of Shares and that the Offer is not in the best interests of Illumina or its stockholders, and unanimously decided to recommend that Illumina’s stockholders reject the Offer.

Reasons for Recommendation

After careful consideration, including a thorough review of the terms and conditions of the Offer with Illumina’s financial and outside legal advisors, the Board has unanimously determined that the Offer is inadequate to holders of Shares and that the Offer is not in the best interests of Illumina or its stockholders.

In reaching its determination to reject the Offer, the Board considered numerous factors in consultation with Illumina’s management and its financial and outside legal advisors, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

1) The Offer is Grossly Inadequate and Dramatically Undervalues Illumina’s Industry-Leading Position and Growth Opportunities

The Board believes that the Offer is grossly inadequate and dramatically undervalues Illumina because it does not reflect the underlying value of Illumina’s assets, operations and prospects, including its industry-leading position and growth opportunities.

 

   

Illumina is the leader in developing and commercializing tools and services for genetic analysis with an unrivaled breadth and depth of technological platforms. The Board believes that Illumina has a robust and compelling product portfolio in the life sciences tools industry, with over 2,300 peer-reviewed sequencing-related publications and more than 8,000 peer-reviewed publications using Illumina technology. These publications underscore strong third-party validation of Illumina’s market-leading portfolio of nine platforms spanning next-generation sequencing, microarrays and related technologies, along with the associated consumables and informatics. This suite of powerful technologies has created one of the strongest brands in the life sciences tool sector. As evidence of this strength, today, Illumina enjoys a 60% share of the next-generation sequencing market, a rapidly growing segment in the life science tools industry. Globally, the Board believes that approximately 90% of the world’s sequencing output is produced on Illumina instruments. Illumina’s history and track record of commercially effective innovation – combining game-changing technology developments with rapid product introductions – is unparalleled.

 

 

1   The full texts of the written opinions of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch, each dated February 7, 2012, which set forth the assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered and limitations on the review undertaken in connection with such opinions, are attached as Annexes B and C hereto, respectively. Each of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch provided its opinion for the information and assistance of the Board in connection with its consideration of the Offer. The opinions of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch are not recommendations as to whether or not any holder of Shares should tender such Shares in connection with the Offer or any other matter.

 

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The industry as a whole and Illumina in particular have substantial growth opportunities. The Board believes that Illumina is singularly positioned in a nascent industry, which has the promise and potential to experience extraordinary growth in the years ahead as genetic information becomes broadly applied beyond molecular biology research and into medical diagnostics. The Board also believes that Illumina is positioned to continue to benefit significantly from positive trends in basic and translational research, as well as clinical and consumer demand for genomic information. Illumina is focused on capturing and realizing the significant, additional growth opportunities for sequencing in other markets, including molecular diagnostics, reproductive health, cancer management and industrial-end markets such as agricultural biotechnology, veterinary medicine and forensics. The Board believes that Illumina has developed a breadth and depth of platforms, capabilities and expertise that is poised to address the ever-expanding user base among these new markets. The Board is particularly optimistic about how platforms, such as HiSeq 2500 and MiSeq, and Illumina’s ongoing proprietary discovery and development efforts, will further diversify Illumina’s customer base and product applications and drive its entry into the clinical molecular diagnostics market.

 

   

Illumina’s future prospects are underpinned by a robust pipeline of new products and services . The Board has a high degree of confidence in management’s ability to deliver significant growth in its business. This confidence is supported by Illumina routinely achieving or exceeding its goals over many years and through many business cycles. The future prospects are also underpinned by a robust line of new products and services, which the Board believes will create powerful new tools in the armaments of researchers and healthcare providers. Moreover, the Board believes that no other company in the sector has as compelling a track record as Illumina in consistently and continuously providing new breakthrough technologies to enable faster, more accurate, reliable and affordable genetic analysis instrumentation, consumables and services.

 

   

Illumina has a long and proven track record of performance. The Board believes that the standalone value to stockholders reflected in Illumina’s current business plan is far superior to the value offered to Illumina’s stockholders in the Offer. In this regard, the Board considered Illumina’s long and proven track record of delivering and creating value for its stockholders. Illumina has routinely delivered compelling results, achieving annual increases in revenue and EPS at compounded growth rates of approximately 42% and 26%, respectively, since 2006. Illumina has created significant value for its stockholders over the last five years (prior to Roche’s announcement of its unsolicited offer), generating an 84% return compared to a 9% decline in the S&P 500. Thus, the Board believes that Illumina’s business plan as an independent entity will deliver substantially greater value to its stockholders than would the Offer.

 

2) The Timing of the Offer is Blatantly Opportunistic and Does Not Reflect Illumina’s Strong Platform of New Products and Pipeline

The Board believes that the timing of the Offer is opportunistic and disadvantageous to Illumina’s stockholders because, among other things:

 

   

Roche timed its Offer opportunistically to capitalize on recent Share price dislocation . Over the past two years, Illumina delivered seven successive quarters of revenue growth, with its Share price reaching an all-time high of $79.40 as recently as July 2011. Roche first approached Illumina in November 2011, just weeks after Illumina announced third quarter 2011 results reflecting a softness in research funding, which the Board believes to be temporary, and when its Shares were trading near a two-year low due to a short-term dislocation in the stock price. As research funding stabilizes through 2012 and the application of sequencing continues to broaden, the Board believes that Illumina is poised to continue to deliver strong growth rates in Illumina’s existing markets. In addition, the Board believes that Illumina’s ongoing technology development efforts will give Illumina significant potential to accelerate growth further in the years ahead.

 

   

Roche timed its Offer opportunistically to capture for itself the substantial growth opportunities inherent in Illumina’s strong platform of new products and pipeline . As Illumina continues to develop

 

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what it believes to be a significant pipeline of platforms and solutions for genetic analysis, the Board believes that Illumina will maintain and build on its record of achieving strong and diverse customer adoption. For example, Illumina’s MiSeq platform has the potential to deliver the power of Illumina’s sequencing technology to new users in a user-friendly package, while the recently announced HiSeq 2500 continues to enhance performance for users demanding the capability to sequence a human genome in a day. Illumina’s BaseSpace informatics solution lowers the information technology hurdles, further enabling increased adoption of sequencing technologies. Illumina’s product portfolio also includes microarray, PCR and mid-level multiplex analysis platforms and innovative reagent and software solutions that can be used by customers across the entire genetic analysis workflow. Illumina’s FastTrack service offering also provides an expanding customer base across the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, clinical and consumer markets with access to genetic analysis technology. In addition, Illumina is developing proprietary clinical content for the eventual development of diagnostics in the oncology field, including in ovarian, gastric and colorectal cancers, as well as autoimmune diseases, genetic diseases and maternal fetal medicine. Finally, the leadership of Illumina’s platforms and its growth potential is further demonstrated by numerous partnerships with leading companies in the molecular diagnostics space, such as Sequenom, Foundation Medicine and others. The Board believes these proprietary diagnostics represent a sizeable long-term growth opportunity for Illumina.

 

   

The Board believes that Illumina is on the verge of benefitting from its continuous significant investment in novel platforms and has a promising pipeline that will drive sustainable future growth and value in the near, medium and long term. To date, the Board believes that Illumina has delivered significant innovation, growth and, consequently, stockholder value. However, the Board also believes that Illumina is well-positioned to further benefit substantially from compelling market opportunities in genetic analysis and diagnostics given Illumina’s technology platforms, product pipeline, management team and proven culture of innovation.

 

3) The Offer Fails to Capture Illumina’s Value as an Enabler of Personalized Healthcare

The Board believes that the Offer fails to recognize Illumina’s central role in enabling a forward-looking vision of personalized medicine and the value Illumina creates for various stakeholders involved in the delivery of healthcare globally. Genetic information and its clinical application are gaining increasing importance, proving central to the pharmaceutical discovery and development process. Likewise, genetic information is being employed in the discovery and development of novel biomarkers, companion diagnostics and clinical molecular diagnostics solutions. When coupled, these therapeutics and in-vitro diagnostics enable the delivery of personalized medicine, benefiting patients and healthcare providers, as well as the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and in-vitro diagnostics industries, among other stakeholders. The Board believes that Illumina’s technologies, products and services are catalysts and critical to driving the growing use of genetic information across healthcare.

 

4) Roche’s Tactics Seek to Disadvantage Illumina’s Stockholders

The Board believes that Roche’s urgency in launching the Offer reflects its tactic to act upon the short-term dislocation in Illumina’s stock price. Purchaser’s $44.50 per Share proposal is $34.90 below Illumina’s 52-week high of $79.40. Thus, when the closing stock price was $37.69 on January 24, 2012, the Board believes that Roche acted to take advantage of Illumina’s depressed stock price levels in its attempt to transfer the significant future value of Illumina from its stockholders to Roche and its stockholders.

 

5) The Offer Values Illumina at a Price Below Recent Trading Levels

The market price of Illumina’s stock has remained above the Offer price of $44.50 per Share since the public announcement of the Offer on January 25, 2012. The closing price per Share on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on February 6, 2012, the last trading day prior to the date of this Statement, was $51.97 which is 17% greater than the Offer price of $44.50 per Share.

 

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6) The Offer’s Conditions Create Significant Uncertainty and Risk

The Board believes that the numerous conditions set forth in the Offer create significant uncertainty and risk as to whether the Offer can be completed and the timing for completion. As described in “Item 2. Identity and Background of Filing Person – Tender Offer” above and in Annex A attached hereto, the Offer is subject to a litany of conditions, including, among others, the following conditions: (1) the Minimum Tender Condition, (2) the Rights Condition, (3) the Section 203 Condition, (4) conditions relating to the absence of any agreement of, or transaction by, Illumina that impairs Purchaser’s or Roche’s ability to acquire Illumina or otherwise diminishes the expected value to Roche of the acquisition of Illumina, (5) conditions relating to antitrust considerations in the United States and foreign jurisdictions, (6) conditions relating to the absence of litigation or other adverse actions, (7) conditions related to Exon-Florio, (8) conditions relating to the absence of material adverse effects on Roche and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or Illumina and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (9) conditions relating to the performance of market indices, (10) conditions relating to the absence of changes to the constituent documents of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries, (11) conditions relating to the absence of adverse effects on Illumina’s contracts and (12) conditions relating to certain changes in ownership of Illumina’s securities. The Board believes that the effect of these, and other numerous conditions, is that Illumina’s stockholders cannot be assured that Purchaser will be required to consummate the Offer. In addition, the Schedule TO provides that the conditions to the Offer are for the sole benefit of Roche, Purchaser and their affiliates and may be asserted by Purchaser or Roche in Purchaser’s sole discretion regardless of the circumstances (including any action or omission by Roche or Purchaser) giving rise to such conditions.

 

7) Illumina Has Received Inadequacy Opinions from Its Financial Advisors

The Board considered the fact that, on February 7, 2012, each of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch rendered an oral opinion to the Board, subsequently confirmed in writing, that, as of the date of such opinion and based upon and subject to the factors and assumptions set forth in its written opinion, the consideration proposed to be paid to the holders of Shares (other than Purchaser and its affiliates) pursuant to the Offer was inadequate from a financial point of view to such holders. The full texts of the written opinions of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch, each dated February 7, 2012, which set forth the assumptions made, procedures followed, matters considered and limitations on the review undertaken in connection with such opinion, are attached as Annexes B and C hereto, respectively. Each of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch provided its opinion for the information and assistance of the Board in connection with its consideration of the Offer. The opinions of Goldman Sachs and BofA Merrill Lynch are not recommendations as to whether or not any holder of Shares should tender such Shares in connection with the Offer or any other matter.

Accordingly, based on the foregoing reasons, the Board unanimously recommends that you REJECT the Offer and NOT TENDER your Shares pursuant to the Offer.

The foregoing discussion of the material factors considered by the Board is not intended to be exhaustive. In view of the variety of factors considered in connection with its evaluation of the Offer, the Board did not find it practicable to, and did not, quantify or otherwise assign relative weights to the factors summarized above in reaching its recommendation. In addition, individual members of the Board may have assigned different weights to different factors. After weighing all of these considerations, the Board unanimously rejected the terms of the Offer and recommended that holders of the Shares not tender their Shares pursuant to the Offer.

Intent to Tender

To the knowledge of Illumina after making reasonable inquiry, none of Illumina’s directors or executive officers or any affiliate or subsidiary of Illumina currently intends to tender in the Offer or sell any Shares that such person or entity holds of record or beneficially owns.

 

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Item 5. Persons/Assets Retained, Employed, Compensated or Used.

Persons Retained to Make Solicitations or Recommendations in Connection with the Offer

Goldman Sachs has been retained as a financial advisor to Illumina in connection with, among other things, Illumina’s analysis and consideration of, and response to, the Offer. Illumina has agreed to pay Goldman Sachs (x) six quarterly advisory fees of $2.667 million per quarter, subject to upward adjustment in the sixth quarter (but in no event resulting in aggregate quarterly advisory fees of more than $20.0 million) based on the final Offer price, which quarterly advisory fees will be payable whether or not the Offer is withdrawn, and (y) in connection with certain sale transactions involving Illumina, including the Offer (if consummated), a transaction fee equal to 0.42% of the aggregate consideration paid (including the net debt of Illumina assumed) in such transaction, less the quarterly advisory fees. The quarterly advisory fees will no longer be payable upon execution of a definitive agreement for, or consummation of, such transaction. Based on the proposed Offer price of $44.50, the transaction fee that would be payable if the Offer were consummated is currently estimated to be approximately $24.7 million, as compared to the aggregate amount of the quarterly advisory fees currently estimated to be approximately $17.7 million. In addition, Illumina has agreed to reimburse Goldman Sachs for certain expenses arising out of or in connection with the engagement and to indemnify Goldman Sachs against certain liabilities relating to or arising out of the engagement.

Goldman Sachs and its affiliates are engaged in investment banking and financial advisory services, commercial banking, securities trading, investment management, principal investment, financial planning, benefits counseling, risk management, hedging, financing, brokerage activities and other financial and non-financial activities and services for various persons and entities. In the ordinary course of these activities and services, Goldman Sachs and its affiliates may at any time make or hold long or short positions and investments, as well as actively trade or effect transactions, in the equity, debt and other securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans and other obligations) of third parties, Illumina, Roche and any of their respective affiliates, or any currency or commodity that may be involved in the Offer and any related transactions for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. During the two-year period prior to February 7, 2012, Goldman Sachs has provided certain investment banking services to Illumina and/or its affiliates for which its Investment Banking Division has received, and may receive, compensation, including, having acted as joint bookrunner with respect to a public offering by Illumina of 0.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 (aggregate principal amount of $920 million) in March 2011. During the two-year period prior to February 7, 2012, Goldman Sachs also has provided certain investment banking services to Roche and/or its affiliates for which its Investment Banking Division has received, and may receive, compensation. In connection with providing such services to Roche and/or its affiliates, the Investment Banking Division of Goldman Sachs has received aggregate compensation of less than $ 1.0 million. Goldman Sachs may also in the future provide investment banking services to Illumina, Roche and their respective affiliates for which its Investment Banking Division may receive compensation.

BofA Merrill Lynch has been retained as a financial advisor to Illumina in connection with, among other things, Illumina’s analysis and consideration of, and response to, the Offer. Illumina has agreed to pay BofA Merrill Lynch (x) six quarterly advisory fees of $1,379,950 per quarter, which quarterly advisory fees will be payable whether or not the Offer is withdrawn, and (y) in connection with certain sale transactions involving Illumina, including the Offer (if consummated), a transaction fee equal to 0.22% of the aggregate consideration paid (including the net debt of Illumina assumed) in such transaction, less the quarterly advisory fees. The quarterly advisory fees will no longer be payable upon execution of a definitive agreement for, or consummation of, such transaction. Based on the proposed Offer price of $44.50, the transaction fee that would be payable if the Offer were consummated is currently estimated to be approximately $13.5 million, as compared to the aggregate amount of the quarterly advisory fees currently estimated to be approximately $8.3 million. In addition, Illumina has agreed to reimburse BofA Merrill Lynch for certain expenses arising out of or in connection with the engagement and to indemnify BofA Merrill Lynch against certain liabilities relating to or arising out of the engagement.

 

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BofA Merrill Lynch and its affiliates comprise a full service securities firm and commercial bank engaged in securities, commodities and derivatives trading, foreign exchange and other brokerage activities, and principal investing as well as providing investment, corporate and private banking, asset and investment management, financing and financial advisory services and other commercial services and products to a wide range of companies, governments and individuals. In the ordinary course of their businesses, BofA Merrill Lynch and its affiliates may invest on a principal basis or on behalf of customers or manage funds that invest, make or hold long or short positions, finance positions or trade or otherwise effect transactions in equity, debt or other securities or financial instruments (including derivatives, bank loans or other obligations) of Illumina, Roche and certain of their respective affiliates.

BofA Merrill Lynch and its affiliates in the past have provided, currently are providing, and in the future may provide, investment banking, commercial banking and other financial services to Illumina and its affiliates and have received or in the future may receive compensation for the rendering of these services, including, during the two-year period prior to February 7, 2012, (1) having acted as manager on certain convertible debt offerings of Illumina, (2) having acted or acting as a lender under certain credit facilities and letters of credit for Illumina and certain of its affiliates and (3) having provided or providing certain treasury and management products and services to Illumina and certain of its affiliates. From January 1, 2010 through February 7, 2012, BofA Merrill Lynch and its affiliates received aggregate revenues from Illumina and its affiliates for corporate, commercial and investment banking services of approximately $ 4.5 million.

BofA Merrill Lynch and its affiliates in the past have provided, currently are providing, and in the future may provide, investment banking, commercial banking and other financial services to Roche and its affiliates and have received or in the future may receive compensation for the rendering of these services, including, during the two-year period prior to February 7, 2012, (1) having acted or acting as a lender under certain credit facilities and letters of credit for an affiliate of Roche, (2) having provided or providing certain foreign exchange and equity linked products and trading services to Roche and certain of its affiliates and (3) having provided or providing certain treasury and management products and services to Roche and certain of its affiliates. From January 1, 2010 through February 7, 2012, BofA Merrill Lynch and its affiliates received aggregate revenues from Roche and its affiliates for corporate, commercial and investment banking services of approximately $ 2.3 million.

Illumina has engaged Innisfree to provide consulting, analytic and information agent services in connection with the Offer. Illumina has agreed to pay customary compensation for such services. In addition, Illumina has agreed to reimburse Innisfree for its out-of-pocket expenses and to indemnify it and certain related persons against certain liabilities relating to or arising out of the engagement.

Illumina has also retained Sard Verbinnen & Co. (“Sard Verbinnen”) as its public relations advisor in connection with the Offer. The Company has agreed to pay customary compensation for such services. In addition, Illumina has agreed to reimburse Sard Verbinnen for its out-of-pocket expenses and to indemnify it and certain related persons against certain liabilities relating to or arising out of the engagement.

Except as described above, neither Illumina nor any person acting on its behalf has employed, retained or agreed to compensate, or intends to employ, retain or agree to compensate, any person to make solicitations or recommendations in connection with the Offer.

Derivative Transactions

In February 2007, Illumina issued $400.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 0.625% Convertible Senior Notes due 2014 (the “Convertible Notes”). Goldman Sachs and another financial institution were the initial purchasers of the Convertible Notes, which were resold by Goldman Sachs and the other financial institution to qualified investors pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. In connection with its issuance of the Convertible Notes, Illumina entered into convertible bond hedge transactions and issuer warrant transactions with respect to shares of its common stock (referred to collectively as the “Call

 

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Spread Transactions”) with Goldman Sachs and the other financial institution. Goldman Sachs is counterparty to 70% of each of the Call Spread Transactions.

The convertible bond hedge transactions, which potentially reduces dilution to Illumina’s stockholders upon conversion of the Convertible Notes, consisted of the purchase by Illumina from Goldman Sachs and the other financial institution of call options with respect to the number of shares of Illumina common stock that Illumina would be required to deliver upon conversion of any portion of the Convertible Notes (which were convertible into up to 18,322,320 Shares as of the date of issuance of the Convertible Notes). The total premium paid by Illumina for the convertible bond hedge transactions was $139.0 million. The issuer warrant transactions, which partially offset the cost to Illumina of the convertible bond hedge transactions, consisted of the sale by Illumina to Goldman Sachs and the other financial institution of warrants in respect of in the aggregate up to 18,322,320 Shares. The total premium received by Illumina for the issuer warrant transactions was $92.4 million, resulting in a net cost to Illumina of the Call Spread Transactions of approximately $46.6 million (of which approximately $ 32.6 million was paid to Goldman Sachs).

The convertible bond hedge transaction with Goldman Sachs generally requires Goldman Sachs to deliver to Illumina, in respect of each Convertible Note that is surrendered for conversion, 70% of the number of Shares that Illumina is required to deliver under the terms of the indenture governing the Convertible Notes, based on a conversion price of approximately $21.83 per Share. The other financial institution that is counterparty to the convertible bond hedge transaction is required to deliver to Illumina the other 30% of such Shares. In the case of conversion of the Convertible Notes in connection with certain merger transactions, including any second step merger following the Offer, were it to be consummated, Goldman Sachs would be required to deliver to Illumina additional Shares, subject to certain limits, in accordance with the terms of the convertible bond hedge transaction.

Under the terms of the issuer warrant transactions, Goldman Sachs has the right to purchase up to 12,825,624 Shares from Illumina at a strike price of approximately $31.44 per Share. The issuer warrant transactions are settled on a cashless basis and will be automatically exercised in equal installments during the 40 consecutive scheduled trading days beginning on May 16, 2014 if the volume-weighted average price per Share is greater than the strike price on such dates. In accordance with their terms, in a transaction in which holders of Shares are cashed out (e.g., in the Offer, were it to be consummated, or a cash-out merger) (each, a “cash-out transaction”), the issuer warrant transactions would be cancelled and Goldman Sachs would be entitled to receive a payment from Illumina for the early cancellation of the issuer warrant transactions (such payment amount, the “cancellation amount”). If Goldman Sachs and Illumina are unable to agree on the amount of such payment, the cancellation amount would be determined by Goldman Sachs, as calculation agent, as to its portion of the issuer warrant transactions. In confirming Goldman Sachs’ engagement as Illumina’s financial advisor to assist the Board in its evaluation of the Offer, the Board discussed what might be considered an appearance of a conflict given the fact that Goldman Sachs is being paid for the cancellation of the issuer warrant transactions prior to their scheduled maturity in 2014 regardless of whether the price of Shares at maturity would be greater than the strike price of the warrants, and that the timing and price of any cash-out transaction (such as the Offer) will affect the determination of the cancellation amount, and determined to engage BofA Merrill Lynch as co-financial advisor to the Board as a means to address the issue. See “Item 4. The Solicitation or Recommendation – Background of the Offer.” In addition, as described below, Goldman Sachs maintains customary institutional information barriers.

As the value of the warrants and the factors affecting the cancellation amount continuously change, and as Goldman Sachs has hedged its position under its portion of the issuer warrant transaction, the consummation of a cash-out transaction and the resulting payment to Goldman Sachs of the cancellation amount could result in Goldman Sachs receiving value that is greater than, equal to or less than the value that would have been received by Goldman Sachs from exercise of the warrants in the absence of any cash-out transaction.

 

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In connection with early conversions of approximately 90% of the Convertible Notes by holders of such notes, Goldman Sachs delivered to Illumina 7,572,113 Shares under the terms of the convertible bond hedge transaction, which at the time of delivery had an approximate value of $511.3 million, based on the closing prices of Shares on the dates of delivery plus $1,559.09 paid in lieu of fractional Shares. The balance of the convertible bond hedge transactions with respect to approximately $40.1 million aggregate principal amount of Convertible Notes (which are convertible into up to 1,837,958 Shares) remain in place as of the date hereof. The issuer warrant transactions were not affected by the early conversions and, as a result, the issuer warrant transactions to which Goldman Sachs is a counterparty covering up to 12,825,624 Shares currently remain outstanding.

If the Offer were consummated on February 6, 2012 in accordance with its terms at the $44.50 per Share consideration proposed to be paid to holders of Shares in the Offer, Goldman Sachs estimates that, upon consummation of the Offer, (1) the cancellation amount payable by Illumina to Goldman Sachs would have been approximately $272.8 million and (2) the aggregate amount payable by Goldman Sachs to securities lenders would have been approximately $454.0 million (based on the $44.50 per Share consideration proposed to be paid to holders of Shares in the Offer) in respect of approximately 10.2 million Shares sold short by Goldman Sachs as of such date to hedge its exposure under the Call Spread Transactions. The actual amount received by Goldman Sachs for the cancellation of the issuer warrant transactions upon consummation of the Offer, if completed, will depend upon various factors, including, among others, the actual transaction price, the closing date of the Offer (and the resulting remaining term of the warrants) and interest rates. For example, higher transaction prices would generally result in a higher cancellation amount payable by Illumina to Goldman Sachs. Goldman Sachs’ obligations under the convertible bond hedge transactions as to any Convertible Notes that are not surrendered for conversion will remain outstanding.

In connection with the Call Spread Transactions, Goldman Sachs engaged, and will continue to engage, in hedging and other market transactions with respect to its position in the Call Spread Transactions (which may include purchasing or selling Convertible Notes or Shares on a “long” or “short” basis, or entering into or unwinding derivative transactions) intended to manage the risk to Goldman Sachs of being party to the Call Spread Transactions. That hedging activity is at Goldman Sachs’ own risk and may result in a loss or profit to Goldman Sachs in an amount that may be less than or greater than the expected contractual benefit to Goldman Sachs under the Call Spread Transactions. The amount of any loss or profit will not be known until all of the convertible bond hedges have been exercised and all of the warrants have been settled in accordance with their terms and Goldman Sachs has completed all of its related hedge unwind activities. In accordance with industry practices, Goldman Sachs maintains customary institutional information barriers reasonably designed to prevent the unauthorized disclosure of confidential information by personnel in its Investment Banking Division to the personnel in its Securities Division who are undertaking these hedging and other market transactions.

The indenture governing the Convertible Notes and the confirmations containing the terms of the Call Spread Transactions (the “Confirmations”) were included as exhibits to Illumina’s current report on Form 8-K filed by Illumina with the SEC on February 16, 2007, which contains additional disclosure regarding the Convertible Notes and the Call Spread Transactions, including the manner in which they are treated in relation to certain merger events and other cash-out transactions. All references herein to share counts, conversion prices and strike prices are subject to adjustment from time to time in accordance with the terms of the Confirmations and have been adjusted to reflect a two-for-one stock split effected by Illumina on September 22, 2008.

 

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Item 6. Interest in Securities of the Subject Company.

Except as described below and except for scheduled vesting of outstanding option awards and RSUs, during the past 60 days, no transaction with respect to the Shares has been effected by Illumina or, to Illumina’s knowledge after making reasonable inquiry, by any of its executive officers, directors, affiliates or subsidiaries.

 

Name

   Date of
Transaction
  

Nature of Transaction

   Number
of Shares
     Price  

Marc A. Stapley

   12/19/2011    Disposed of Shares(1)      33       $ 26.665   

Marc A. Stapley

   1/20/2012    Grant of RSUs upon hire      24,500       $ 0.00   

Marc A. Stapley

   1/20/2012    Acquired options upon hire      136,500       $ 0.00   

Christian O. Henry

   1/25/2012    Acquired Shares (Pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan)(2)      5,000       $ 28.45   

Christian O. Henry

   1/25/2012    Disposed of Shares (Pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan)      5,000       $ 55.00   

Christian O. Henry

   1/25/2012    Acquired Shares (Pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan)(2)      1,500       $ 5.23   

Christian O. Henry

   1/25/2012    Disposed of Shares (Pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan)      1,500       $ 52.60   

Christian O. Henry

   1/25/2012    Acquired Shares (Pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan)(2)      10,000       $ 32.485   

Christian O. Henry

   1/25/2012    Disposed of Shares (Pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan)      10,000       $ 52.60   

Christian O. Henry

   1/25/2012    Acquired Shares (Pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan)(2)      10,000       $ 20.04   

Christian O. Henry

   1/25/2012    Disposed of Shares (Pursuant to a 10b5-1 Plan)      10,000       $ 52.60   

Gregory F. Heath

   1/27/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      557       $ 51.685   

Christian O. Henry

   1/27/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      550       $ 51.685   

Tristan B. Orpin

   1/27/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      624       $ 51.685   

Matthew L. Posard

   1/27/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      422       $ 51.685   

Christian G. Cabou

   1/28/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      917       $ 50.96   

Gregory F. Heath

   1/28/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      770       $ 50.96   

Christian O. Henry

   1/28/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      1,432       $ 50.96   

Tristan B. Orpin

   1/28/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      917       $ 50.96   

Matthew L. Posard

   1/28/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      616       $ 50.96   

Christian O. Henry

   1/29/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      1,283       $ 50.96   

Tristan B. Orpin

   1/29/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      1,176       $ 50.96   

Matthew L. Posard

   1/29/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      696       $ 50.96   

Christian O. Henry

   1/31/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      420       $ 51.86   

Gregory F. Heath

   1/31/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      183       $ 51.86   

Nicholas J. Naclerio

   1/31/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      392       $ 51.86   

Tristan B. Orpin

   1/31/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      367       $ 51.86   

Matthew L. Posard

   1/31/2012    Disposed of Shares(3)      220       $ 51.86   

Christian G. Cabou

   2/1/2012    Acquired Shares(4)      130       $ 44.1745   

Jay T. Flatley

   2/1/2012    Acquired Shares(4)      411       $ 44.1745   

Gregory F. Heath

   2/1/2012    Acquired Shares(4)      411       $ 44.1745   

Christian O. Henry

   2/1/2012    Acquired Shares(4)      243       $ 44.1745   

Tristan B. Orpin

   2/1/2012    Acquired Shares(4)      93       $ 44.1745   

Matthew L. Posard

   2/1/2012    Acquired Shares(4)      388       $ 44.1745   

Mostafa Ronaghi

   2/1/2012    Acquired Shares(4)      411       $ 44.1745   

 

(1) Transaction was effected prior to Mr. Stapley joining Illumina as an executive officer.
(2) Exercise of employee stock options.
(3) Shares withheld by Illumina to satisfy tax obligations upon RSU vesting.
(4) Transaction was effected through the ESPP.

 

Item 7. Purposes of the Transaction, Plans or Proposals.

For the reasons discussed in “Item 4. The Solicitation or Recommendation – Reasons for Recommendation” above, the Board unanimously determined that the Offer is inadequate and not in the best interests of Illumina or its stockholders and that the interests of the stockholders will be best served by Illumina continuing to pursue its independent strategic plan. Except as set forth in this Statement (including in the Annexes and Exhibits to this Statement) or as incorporated in this Statement by reference, Illumina is not now undertaking or engaged in any

 

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negotiations in response to the Offer that relate to or could result in one or more of the following or a combination thereof: (1) a tender offer or other acquisition of Illumina’s securities by Illumina, any of its subsidiaries or any other person; (2) any extraordinary transaction, such as a merger, reorganization or

liquidation, involving Illumina or any of its subsidiaries; (3) any purchase, sale or transfer of a material amount of assets of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries; or (4) any material change in the present dividend rate or policy, or indebtedness or capitalization of Illumina.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, Illumina may in the future engage in negotiations in response to the Offer that could have one of the effects specified in the preceding paragraph, and it has determined that disclosure with respect to the parties to, and the possible terms of, any transactions or proposals of the type referred to in the preceding paragraph might jeopardize the discussions or negotiations that Illumina may conduct. Accordingly, the Board has adopted a resolution instructing management not to disclose the possible terms of any such transactions or proposals, or the parties thereto, unless and until an agreement in principle relating thereto has been reached or, upon the advice of counsel, as may otherwise be required by law.

At its February 2, 2012 meeting, the Board, among other things, resolved that the “Distribution Date” that would otherwise result under the Rights Agreement from the public announcement(s) and action(s) of Roche or any of its affiliates be deferred until such time, if ever, that the Board determines to eliminate such deferral.

Except as described above or otherwise set forth in this Statement (including in the Annexes and Exhibits to this Statement) or as incorporated in this Statement by reference, there are no transactions, resolutions of the Board, agreements in principle or signed contracts in response to the Offer that relate to, or would result in one or more of the following or a combination thereof: (1) a tender offer or other acquisition of Illumina’s securities by Illumina, any of its subsidiaries or any other person; (2) any extraordinary transaction, such as a merger, reorganization or liquidation, involving Illumina or any of its subsidiaries; (3) any purchase, sale or transfer of a material amount of assets of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries; or (4) any material change in the present dividend rate or policy, or indebtedness or capitalization of Illumina.

 

Item 8. Additional Information.

Information Regarding Golden Parachute Compensation

Change of Control Severance Agreements

Illumina has previously entered into change of control severance agreements with certain executive officers, including each of Messrs. Flatley, Henry, Cabou, Orpin, Ronaghi and Stapley. The initial term of all change of control severance agreements, other than that of Mr. Stapley, expired in August 2009, after which each of the agreements automatically renew annually for additional one year periods unless a notice of non-extension is provided by either party to an agreement. Illumina entered into a change of control severance agreement with Mr. Stapley in connection with his hiring in January 2012, which expires in August 2012 but automatically renews annually thereafter for additional one year periods unless a notice of non-extension is provided by either party to the agreement. The consummation of the Offer where the Minimum Tender Condition has been met will constitute a change of control of Illumina for purposes of the change of control severance agreements.

Under the change of control severance agreements, the executive would receive benefits if he were terminated within two years following the change of control either:

 

   

by Illumina other than for “cause,” which is defined in each change of control severance agreement to include repeated failure or refusal to materially perform his duties that existed immediately prior to the change of control, conviction of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude, or engagement in an act of malfeasance, fraud, or dishonesty that materially damages to the business of Illumina; or

 

   

by the executive on account of “good reason,” which is defined in each change of control severance agreement to include certain reductions in the executive’s annual base salary, bonus, position, title,

 

29


 

responsibility, level of authority, or reporting relationships that existed immediately prior to the change of control, or a relocation, without the executive’s written consent, of the executive’s principal place of business by more than 35 miles from the executive’s principal place of business immediately prior to the change of control.

Pursuant to the change of control severance agreements, if a covered termination of the executive’s employment occurs in connection with a change of control, then, with the exception of the Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Flatley, the executive is generally entitled to the following benefits:

 

   

a severance payment equal to one year of the executive’s annual base salary plus the greater of (1) the executive’s then-current annual target bonus or other target incentive amount or (2) the annual bonus or other incentive paid or payable to the executive for the most recently completed fiscal year;

 

   

a lump sum payment of the executive’s earned but unpaid compensation and a pro rata portion of the executive’s annual target bonus or other target incentive amount;

 

   

payments of the executive’s group health insurance coverage premiums under COBRA law, including coverage for executive’s eligible dependents enrolled immediately prior to termination, for a maximum period of one year; however, Illumina’s obligation to pay such premiums ceases immediately upon the date the executive becomes covered under any other group health plan;

 

   

continuance of the executive’s indemnification rights and liability insurance for a maximum of one year following termination;

 

   

continuance of the executive’s perquisites to which the executive was entitled for a period of 12 months;

 

   

automatic vesting of the executive’s unvested stock options and equity or equity-based awards; and

 

   

certain professional outplacement services consistent with the executive’s position for up to two years following termination.

Mr. Flatley is entitled to a severance payment equal to twice the sum of his annual base salary and the greater of his target or most recently paid or payable target bonus or other target incentives, 24 months (instead of 12 months) of continued certain medical and other benefits in addition to the benefits previously described for the other named executive officers.

The change of control severance agreements provide that each executive’s total change of control payment may be reduced in the event such payment is subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and such a reduction would provide a greater after-tax benefit for the executive. Additionally, change of control benefits are subject to limitations under IRC Section 280G “golden parachute” provisions. A full analysis of the financial impact of these limitations will be performed based on the facts and circumstances in the event a change of control were to occur.

Deferred Compensation

Illumina’s Deferred Compensation Plan provides key employees and directors with an opportunity to defer a portion of their salary, bonus and other specified compensation. The plan also permits Illumina to make discretionary contributions to the plan on behalf of the participants, although Illumina has not exercised such discretion. A participant is always fully vested in accounts under the plan attributable to a participant’s contributions and related earnings on such contributions. Upon a “change in control” (as defined in the plan) a participant will receive his or her “retirement benefit” or “termination benefit” (each as defined in the plan) in a lump sum payment equal to the unpaid balance of all of his or her accounts if a “separation from service” (as defined in the plan) occurs within 24 months following a change of control. The consummation of the Offer where the Minimum Tender Condition has been met would be a change of control of Illumina for purposes of the Deferred Compensation Plan.

 

30


Based upon a hypothetical change of control date of January 27, 2012 (assuming that the consummation of the Offer and the Proposed Merger had been completed), the change of control benefits for Illumina’s named executive officers would have been as follows if such named executive officer experienced a termination on January 27, 2012:

 

Name

   Cash ($)(1)      Equity($)(2)      Pension/NQDC($)(3)      Prerequisites/
Benefits
        ($)(4)         
     Total ($)(5)  

Jay T. Flatley

     3,957,288         5,445,606         1,188,797         71,149         10,662,840   

Christian O. Henry(6)

     935,270         1,622,781         618,302         46,374         3,222,727   

Marc A. Stapley(7)

     713,149         2,209,550         —           46,374         2,969,074   

Christian G. Cabou

     840,002         1,466,158         266,168         38,188         2,610,516   

Tristan B. Orpin

     881,404         1,495,839         174,281         46,374         2,597,899   

Mostafa Ronaghi

     756,878         977,914         809,099         45,527         2,589,419   

 

(1) As described above, under the change of control severance agreements, upon a qualifying termination following a change of control, each of the named executive officers would be entitled to (i) a severance payment equal to one year (two years for Mr. Flatley) of the executive’s annual base salary plus the greater of (two times the greater of for Mr. Flatley) (a) the executive’s then-current annual target bonus or other target incentive amount or (b) the annual bonus or other incentive paid or payable to the executive for the most recently completed fiscal year (“Severance Payment”); and (ii) a lump sum payment of the executive’s earned but unpaid compensation and a pro rata portion of the executive’s annual target bonus or other target incentive amount (“Earned Compensation”). Earned Compensation in the table above includes bonus payments for fiscal year 2011, which are scheduled to be paid in February 2012. Mr. Flatley would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $3,213,600 and Earned Compensation equal to $743,688; Mr. Henry would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $697,568 and Earned Compensation equal to $237,701; Mr. Stapley would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $674,250 and Earned Compensation equal to $38,899; Mr. Cabou would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $620,073 and Earned Compensation equal to $219,929; Mr. Orpin would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $660,280 and Earned Compensation equal to $221,124; and Mr. Ronaghi would be entitled to receive a Severance Payment equal to $561,202 and Earned Compensation equal to $195,676.
(2) As described above, under the change of control severance agreements, upon a qualifying termination following a change of control, all of the equity awards would vest. As of January 27, 2012, Mr. Flatley had 363,023 unvested options and 74,500 unvested RSUs; Mr. Henry had 124,225 unvested options and 21,145 unvested RSUs; Mr. Stapley had 136,500 unvested options and 24,500 unvested RSUs; Mr. Cabou had 97,407 unvested options and 19,499 unvested RSUs; Mr. Orpin had 102,032 unvested options and 20,166 unvested RSUs; and Mr. Ronaghi had 117,449 unvested options and 13,150 unvested RSUs. Fair market value of accelerated equity compensation includes the value of unvested and accelerated stock options and RSUs as of January 27, 2012. The value of the stock options was calculated by multiplying the number of accelerated options by the difference between the exercise price and $44.50 (the Purchaser’s proposed purchase price). The value of the RSUs is based on the number of outstanding shares that would not ordinarily have vested January 27, 2012 multiplied by $44.50 (the Purchaser’s proposed purchase price).
(3) As described above, under the Deferred Compensation Plan upon a separation from service within 24 months of a change of control, each named executive officer will be entitled to his or her retirement benefit or termination benefit in a lump sum payment equal to the unpaid balance of all of his or her accounts. All of the amounts for all of the named executive officers consist of the termination benefits.
(4) Represents payment of (i) the executive’s group health insurance coverage premiums under COBRA law, including coverage for executive’s eligible dependents enrolled immediately prior to termination, for a maximum period of one year (two years for Mr. Flatley) and (ii) professional outplacement services for up to two years following termination ($10,800 per year for each executive officer).
(5)

The table above sets forth the amounts that each named executive officer would receive assuming that the consummation of the Offer had been completed and each named executive officer experienced a qualifying termination on January 27, 2012. All of the amounts included in the table above are only payable upon a

 

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  change of control followed by a termination of employment (i.e., the payment is subject to a “double trigger”).
(6) Effective as of January 20, 2012, Mr. Henry no longer serves as Chief Financial Officer of Illumina but will continue in his role as Senior Vice President, General Manager Genomic Solutions.
(7) Effective as of January 20, 2012, Mr. Stapley serves as Chief Financial Officer of Illumina.

Delaware Takeover Statute

In general, Section 203 of the DGCL prevents an “interested stockholder” (generally, a stockholder owning 15% or more of a corporation’s outstanding voting stock or an affiliate or associate thereof) from engaging in a “business combination” (defined to include a merger or consolidation and certain other transactions) with a Delaware corporation for a period of three years following the time on which such stockholder became an interested stockholder unless (1) prior to such time the corporation’s board of directors approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder (2) upon completion of the transaction which resulted in such stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the corporation’s voting stock outstanding at the time the transaction commenced (excluding shares owned by certain employee stock plans and persons who are directors and also officers of the corporation) or (3) at or subsequent to such time the business combination is approved by the corporation’s board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders, and not by written consent, by the affirmative vote of at least 66-2/3% of the outstanding voting stock not owned by the interested stockholder.

The provisions of Section 203 of the DGCL do not apply to a Delaware corporation if, among other things, (1) such corporation amends its certificate of incorporation or bylaws to elect not to be governed by Section 203 of the DGCL by (in addition to any other required vote) the affirmative vote of a majority of the shares entitled to vote; provided that such amendment would not be effective until 12 months after its adoption and would not apply to any business combination between such corporation and any person who became an interested stockholder on or prior to its adoption, (2) such corporation does not have a class of voting stock that is listed on a national securities exchange or held of record by more than 2,000 stockholders, unless any of the foregoing results from action taken, directly or indirectly, by an interested stockholder or from a transaction in which a person becomes an interested stockholder, or (3) the business combination is proposed by an interested stockholder prior to the completion or abandonment of, and subsequent to the earlier of the public announcement or the notice required under Section 203 of the DGCL of, any one of certain proposed transactions which is with or by a person who was not an interested stockholder during the previous three years or who became an interested stockholder with the approval of the corporation’s board of directors and is approved or not opposed by a majority of the board of directors then in office who were directors prior to any person becoming an interested stockholder during the previous three years or were recommended for election to succeed such directors by a majority of such directors.

The Offer is subject to satisfaction of the Section 203 Condition. Please see Annex A attached hereto for more information regarding conditions to the Offer.

Other State Takeover Laws

A number of other states have adopted laws and regulations applicable to attempts to acquire securities of corporations which are incorporated, or have substantial assets, stockholders, principal executive offices or principal places of business, or whose business operations otherwise have substantial economic effects, in such states. In the event it is asserted that one or more state takeover laws is applicable to the Offer or the Proposed Merger and an appropriate court does not determine that it is inapplicable or invalid as applied to the Offer or the Proposed Merger, Purchaser might be required to file certain information with, or receive approvals from, the relevant state authorities or holders of Shares. According to the Schedule TO, in addition, Purchaser might be unable to accept for payment any Shares tendered pursuant to the Offer or be delayed in continuing or

 

32


consummating the Offer or the Proposed Merger. According to the Schedule TO, in such case, Purchaser may not be obligated to accept for payment any Shares tendered. Please see Annex A attached hereto for more information regarding conditions to the Offer.

United States Antitrust Clearance

Under the HSR Act, and the rules and regulations that have been promulgated thereunder by the FTC, transactions that meet certain monetary thresholds must be reported to the FTC and the Antitrust Division, and may not be consummated until the applicable statutory waiting period has expired or terminated.

According to the Schedule TO, Roche expects to file a Premerger Notification and Report Form with respect to the Offer with the Antitrust Division and the FTC on or about February 8, 2012. Assuming that Roche in fact makes this filing on such date, Illumina will be required to submit a responsive Notification and Report Form with the Antitrust Division and the FTC on or before 5:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on February 21, 2012.

Under the provisions of the HSR Act applicable to the Offer, the waiting period applicable to the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer will expire at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, 15 calendar days following Roche’s filing of a Premerger Notification and Report Form, unless such 15th day is a Saturday, Sunday or other legal public holiday, in which case the waiting period will expire at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the next regular business day. Before such time, however, either the FTC or the Antitrust Division may extend the waiting period by requesting additional information from Roche. If such request is made, the waiting period will expire at 11:59 p.m., Eastern Time, on the tenth calendar day after Roche certifies substantial compliance with such request, unless otherwise extended by agreement or court order.

The Antitrust Division and the FTC routinely assess the potential competitive effects of transactions reported under the HSR Act such as the acquisition of Shares by Purchaser pursuant to the Offer and the Proposed Merger. At any time before or after the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer by Purchaser, the Antitrust Division or the FTC could take such action under the antitrust laws as either deems necessary or desirable in the public interest, including, without limitation, seeking to enjoin the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer, the divestiture of Shares purchased pursuant to the Offer or the divestiture of assets of Illumina, Purchaser, Roche or their respective subsidiaries. Private parties as well as state attorneys general may also bring legal actions under the antitrust laws under certain circumstances. There can be no assurance that a challenge to the Offer or the Proposed Merger on antitrust grounds will not be made or that, if such a challenge is made, as to the result thereof.

If any waiting period under the HSR Act applicable to the Offer has not expired or been terminated prior to the expiration date of the Offer, or if the FTC, the Antitrust Division, a state attorney general, or a private party obtains an order enjoining the purchase of Shares, then Purchaser will not be obligated to proceed with the Offer or the purchase of any Shares not previously purchased pursuant to the Offer. Additionally, Purchaser may terminate the Offer if any action, injunction, order or decree becomes applicable to the Offer, the acceptance for payment of or payment for the Shares or the Proposed Merger that seeks to restrain or prohibit the exercise of Purchaser’s full rights of ownership or operation by Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates of all or any portion of Purchaser’s business or assets or those of Illumina or any of Purchaser’s or Illumina’s respective subsidiaries or affiliates. Please see Annex A attached hereto for more information regarding conditions to the Offer.

Foreign Antitrust Considerations

According to the Schedule TO, Roche and its subsidiaries conduct business in a number of countries outside of the United States in which Illumina’s products are currently sold. In connection with the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer, the laws of certain of these foreign countries may require the filing of information with, or the obtaining of approval of, governmental authorities therein. Competition authorities in certain of these foreign

 

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countries may refuse to grant required approvals or clearances, bring legal action under applicable foreign antitrust laws seeking to enjoin the purchase of Shares pursuant to the Offer or seek the divestiture of Shares acquired by Purchaser or the divestiture of substantial assets of Illumina or its subsidiaries or Roche and its subsidiaries. There can be no assurance that Purchaser and Roche will obtain all required foreign antitrust approvals or clearances or that a challenge to the Offer by foreign competition authorities will not be made, or, if such a challenge is made, the result thereof.

If any applicable waiting period has not expired or been terminated or any approval or exemption required to consummate the Offer has not been obtained, Purchaser will not be obligated to accept for payment or pay for any tendered Shares unless and until such approval has been obtained or such applicable waiting period has expired or exemption been obtained. Please see Annex A attached hereto for more information regarding conditions to the Offer.

Exon-Florio

Under Exon-Florio, the President of the United States is authorized to prohibit or suspend acquisitions, mergers or takeovers by foreign persons of persons engaged in interstate commerce in the United States if the President determines that there is credible evidence that such foreign persons in exercising control of such acquired persons might take action that threatens to impair the national security of the United States and that other provisions of existing law do not provide adequate authority to protect national security. Pursuant to Exon-Florio, a party or parties to a transaction may provide a notification to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), which has been designated to administer Exon-Florio, for review of the transaction. Notification is not mandatory, but CFIUS has authority to self-initiate a review of a transaction in the absence of a voluntary notification, including after the transaction has closed.

Once a review has been initiated (whether by notification or CFIUS’s own initiative), CFIUS has 30 calendar days to decide whether to initiate a formal investigation. If CFIUS declines to investigate, the review process is complete. If CFIUS decides to investigate, it has 45 days in which to resolve the matter or prepare a recommendation to the President of the United States, who must then decide within 15 days whether to block the transaction. CFIUS may condition its clearance of a transaction upon commitments to be provided by the acquirer. These timetables may be extended in some circumstances if information is not provided as requested. Regardless of whether or not notification is made, there is no prohibition against the consummation of an acquisition, merger or takeover while a review is pending, but CFIUS retains jurisdiction to review a covered transaction following its consummation (unless a review was completed prior to closing).

Illumina is engaged in interstate commerce in the United States and Roche is a foreign person, and therefore the Offer is potentially subject to examination under Exon-Florio. According to the Schedule TO, Purchaser intends promptly to file with CFIUS a notification of the Offer and the Proposed Merger in accordance with the Exon-Florio regulations. There can be no assurance that CFIUS will not impose restrictions on the transaction(s) or will not determine to conduct an investigation of the proposed transaction, and, if an investigation is commenced, there can be no assurance regarding the ultimate outcome of such investigation.

It is a condition to the Offer that the government of the United States has completed its national security review and, if necessary, investigation, under Exon-Florio, and has concluded that no adverse action is to be taken with respect to the acceptance for payment of, and payment for, Shares pursuant to the Offer or the consummation of the Proposed Merger, including any action to impose a condition upon, suspend or prohibit the Offer or the Proposed Merger is necessary. Please see Annex A attached hereto for more information regarding conditions to the Offer.

Appraisal Rights

Appraisal rights are not available in the Offer. If the Proposed Merger is consummated, holders of Shares at the effective time of the merger who do not vote in favor of, or consent to, the Proposed Merger and who comply

 

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with Section 262 of the DGCL will have the right to demand appraisal of their Shares (the “Dissenting Shares”). Under Section 262 of the DGCL, stockholders who demand appraisal and comply with the applicable statutory procedures will be entitled to receive a judicial determination of the fair value of their Shares, exclusive of any element of value arising from the accomplishment or expectation of the Proposed Merger, and to receive payment of that fair value in cash, together with a fair rate of interest, if any. Any judicial determination of the fair value of Dissenting Shares could be based upon factors other than, or in addition to, the price per Share to be paid in the Proposed Merger or the market value of the Shares. The value so determined could be more or less than the price per Share to be paid in the Proposed Merger.

If any holder of Shares who demands appraisal under Section 262 of the DGCL fails to perfect, or effectively withdraws or loses, its, his or her rights to appraisal as provided in the DGCL, the Shares of such stockholder will be converted into the right to receive the price per Share paid in the Proposed Merger. Failure to follow the steps required by Section 262 of the DGCL for perfecting appraisal rights may result in the loss of such rights.

Rights Agreement

Illumina is a party to the Rights Agreement, the purpose of which is to protect Illumina’s stockholders from coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics. On January 25, 2012, the Board declared a dividend of one Right for each outstanding Share. The dividend is payable on February 6, 2012 (the “Record Date”) to the stockholders of record on that date.

Each holder of a Share as of the Record Date will receive a dividend of one Right per Share. Each Right entitles the registered holder to purchase from Illumina one one-thousandth of a share of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock of Illumina, par value $0.01 per share (the “Preferred Stock) at a price of $275.00 per one one-thousandth of a share of Preferred Stock (the “Purchase Price”), subject to adjustment.

Until the Distribution Date, the Rights will be evidenced, with respect to any of the certificates for Shares outstanding as of the Record Date, by such certificates for Shares. Under the Rights Agreement, the “Distribution Date” is the earlier to occur of (1) the tenth business day following a public announcement that a person or group of affiliated or associated persons (with certain exceptions, an “Acquiring Person”) has acquired beneficial ownership of 15% or more of the outstanding Shares or (2) the tenth business day (or such later date as may be determined by action of the Board prior to such time as any person or group of affiliated persons becomes an Acquiring Person) following the commencement of, or announcement of an intention to make, a tender offer or exchange offer the consummation of which would result in the beneficial ownership by a person or group of 15% or more of the outstanding Shares. At its February 2, 2012 meeting, the Board, among other things, resolved that the “Distribution Date” that would otherwise result under the Rights Agreement from the public announcement(s) and action(s) of Roche or any of its affiliates be deferred until such time, if ever, that the Board determines to eliminate such deferral.

Until the Distribution Date (or earlier expiration, redemption or exchange of the Rights), (1) the Rights will be transferred with and only with the Shares, (2) new Share certificates issued after the Record Date upon transfer or new issuance of Shares will contain a notation incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference, and the initial transaction statement or subsequent periodic statements with respect to uncertificated Shares, if any, that are registered after the Record Date upon transfer or new issuance of such Shares will also contain a notation incorporating the Rights Agreement by reference and (3) the surrender for transfer of any certificates for Shares, or the registration of transfer of ownership in Illumina’s share register with respect to uncertificated Shares outstanding as of the Record Date will also constitute the transfer of the Rights associated with the Shares represented by such certificate or registration.

As soon as practicable following the Distribution Date, separate certificates evidencing the Rights (“Right Certificates”) will be mailed to holders of record of the Shares.

 

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The Rights are not exercisable until the Distribution Date. The Rights will expire on January 26, 2017 (the “Final Expiration Date”), unless the Final Expiration Date is amended or unless the Rights are earlier redeemed or exchanged by Illumina, in each case as described below.

If any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person (with certain limited exceptions), each holder of a Right will thereafter have the right to receive, upon exercise, that number of Shares having a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right. Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, following the existence of an Acquiring Person, all Rights that are, or (under certain circumstances specified in the Rights Agreement) were, beneficially owned by any Acquiring Person will be null and void.

In the event that, after a person or group has become an Acquiring Person, Illumina is acquired in a merger or other business combination transaction or 50% or more of its consolidated assets or earning power are sold, proper provisions will be made so that each holder of a Right (other than Rights beneficially owned by an Acquiring Person which will have become void) will thereafter have the right to receive, upon the exercise thereof, that number of shares of common stock of the acquiring company that at the time of such transaction have a market value of two times the exercise price of the Right.

At any time after any person or group becomes an Acquiring Person and prior to the acquisition by such Acquiring Person of 50% or more of the outstanding Shares, the Board may exchange the Rights (other than Rights owned by such Acquiring Person which will have become void), in whole or in part, at an exchange ratio per Right of one Share, or, under certain circumstances, other securities of equivalent value to one Common Share having substantially similar rights, privileges, preferences, voting power and economic rights (subject to adjustment).

At any time prior to the time an Acquiring Person becomes such, the Board may redeem the Rights in whole, but not in part, at a price of $0.01 per Right (the “Redemption Price”). The redemption of the Rights may be made effective at such time, on such basis and with such conditions as the Board in its sole discretion may establish. Immediately upon any redemption of the Rights, the right to exercise the Rights will terminate and the only right of the holders of Rights will be to receive the Redemption Price.

The terms of the Rights may be amended by the Board without the consent of the holders of the Rights, except that from and after the Distribution Date no such amendment may adversely affect the interests of the holders of the Rights (other than the Acquiring Person).

Until a Right is exercised or exchanged, the holder thereof, as such, will have no rights as a stockholder of Illumina, including, without limitation, the right to vote or to receive dividends.

The foregoing description of the Rights Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Rights Agreement, a copy of which was previously filed with the SEC as Exhibit 4.1 to Illumina’s current report on Form 8-K filed on January 26, 2012, and is incorporated herein by reference.

Consummation of the Offer is conditioned upon the Board redeeming the Rights or Purchaser being satisfied, in its reasonable discretion, that the Rights have been invalidated or are otherwise inapplicable to the Offer and the Proposed Merger. Please see Annex A attached hereto for more information regarding conditions to the Offer.

Delaware Law

The Proposed Merger would need to comply with various applicable procedural and substantive requirements of Delaware law. Several decisions by Delaware courts have held that, in certain circumstances, a controlling stockholder of a corporation involved in a merger has a fiduciary duty to the other stockholders that requires the merger to be fair to such other stockholders. Purchaser would be a controlling stockholder if the

 

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holders of at least a majority of the Shares accept the Offer and their Shares are purchased by Purchaser pursuant to the Offer. In determining whether a merger is fair to minority stockholders, Delaware courts have considered, among other things, the type and amount of consideration to be received by the stockholders and whether there were fair dealings among the parties.

Litigation

On January 30, 2012, Erste-Sparinvest Kapitalanlagegesellschaft M.B.H., an alleged stockholder of Illumina, filed a putative class and derivative action in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Diego, against William H. Rastetter, Jay T. Flatley, Blaine Bowman, Daniel M. Bradbury, Karin Eastham, Paul C. Grint, Gerald Möller, David R. Walt, Roy Whitfield (collectively, the “Director Defendants”) and Illumina, as a nominal party. The complaint alleges, inter alia , that the Director Defendants breached their fiduciary duties to the stockholders of Illumina in connection with the Offer, and seeks, among other things, declaratory and injunctive relief compelling the Director Defendants to “evaluate strategic alternatives and potential offers for Illumina,” “take decisive steps to maximize Company and shareholder value,” and/or to rescind or redeem the Rights Agreement.

Forward-Looking Statements

This Statement may contain statements that are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on potentially inaccurate assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expected or implied by the forward-looking statements. Among the important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in any forward-looking statements are (1) Illumina’s ability to develop and commercialize further Illumina’s sequencing, BeadArray™, VeraCode ® , Eco™, and consumables technologies and to deploy new sequencing, genotyping, gene expression, and diagnostics products and applications for Illumina’s technology platforms, (2) Illumina’s ability to manufacture robust instrumentation and consumables, (3) significant uncertainty concerning government and academic research funding worldwide as governments in the United States and Europe, in particular, focus on reducing fiscal deficits while at the same time confronting slowing economic growth, (4) business disruptions associated with the tender offer commenced by Purchaser, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roche, and (5) other factors detailed in Illumina’s filings with the SEC, including Illumina’s most recent filings on Forms 10-K and 10-Q, or in information disclosed in public conference calls, the date and time of which are released beforehand. Illumina undertakes no obligation, and does not intend, to update these forward-looking statements.

 

Item 9. Exhibits.

 

Exhibit
No.

 

Description

(a)(1)   Press Release issued by Illumina, dated as of January 24, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of Illumina’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 25, 2012)
(a)(2)   Letter to Illumina’s Employees Concerning Illumina’s Receipt of Unsolicited Proposal from Roche, dated as of January 24, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.2 of Illumina’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 25, 2012)
(a)(3)   Press Release issued by Illumina, dated as of January 26, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of Illumina’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 26, 2012)
(a)(4)   Press Release issued by Illumina, dated as of January 27, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of Illumina’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 27, 2012)
(a)(5)   Q&A Disseminated to Illumina Employees Concerning Unsolicited Proposal from Roche (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of Illumina’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 27, 2012)

 

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Exhibit
No.

 

Description

(a)(6)   Complaint filed by Erste-Sparinvest Kapitalanlagegesellschaft M.B.H., individually and on behalf of all other similarly situated and derivatively on behalf of Illumina, in California Superior Court for San Diego County on January 30, 2012
(a)(7)   Press Release issued by Illumina, dated as of January 31, 2012 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 99.1 of Illumina’s current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on January 31, 2012)
(a)(8)   Opinion of Goldman, Sachs & Co., dated as of February 7, 2012 (included as Annex B to this Statement)
(a)(9)   Opinion of Merrill, Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, dated as of February 7, 2012 (included as Annex C to this Statement)
(a)(10)   Letter to Illumina’s Stockholders, dated as of February 7, 2012
(e)(1)   Excerpts from Illumina’s Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A, dated as of, and filed with the SEC on, March 24, 2011
(e)(2)   2005 Stock and Incentive Plan, as amended and restated through April 22, 2010 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.5 of Ilumina’s Form S-8 filed with the SEC on July 29, 2010)
(e)(3)   New Hire Stock and Incentive Plan, as amended and restated through October 28, 2009 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of Illumina’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 26, 2010)
(e)(4)   Form of Amended and Restated Change in Control Severance Agreement between Illumina and its executive officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.34 of Illumina’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 26, 2009)
(e)(5)   Amended and Restated Change in Control Severance Agreement between Illumina and Jay T. Flatley, dated October 22, 2008 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.33 of Illumina’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 26, 2009)
(e)(6)   Illumina’s Deferred Compensation Plan, effective December 1, 2007
(e)(7)   2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan, as amended and restated through October 28, 2009 (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 of Illumina’s Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 26, 2009)
(e)(8)   Form of Indemnification Agreement between Illumina and each of its directors and executive officers (incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.55 of Illumina’s Form 10-Q filed with the SEC on July 25

 

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SIGNATURE

After due inquiry and to the best of my knowledge and belief, I certify that the information set forth in this Schedule 14D-9 is true, complete and correct.

 

ILLUMINA, INC.
By:  

/s/ Christian G. Cabou

  Name: Christian G. Cabou
  Title: Senior Vice President & General Counsel

Dated: February 7, 2012

 

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ANNEX A

Conditions to the Offer

The Schedule TO provides that notwithstanding any other provision of the Offer, Purchaser is not required to accept for payment or, subject to any applicable rules and regulations of the SEC (including Rule 14e-1(c) under the Exchange Act (relating to Purchaser’s obligation to pay for or return tendered Shares promptly after termination or expiration of the Offer)), pay for any Shares, and may terminate or amend the Offer, if before the expiration of the Offer the Minimum Tender Condition, the Rights Condition, the Section 203 Condition or the Impairment Condition shall not have been satisfied, any applicable waiting period under the HSR Act, or under any agreement with the Antitrust Division or the FTC, has not expired or been terminated early, or any required notification to a relevant competition authority under any applicable foreign antitrust or merger control statute or regulation has not been deemed by such authority to be complete, any post-notification waiting period required by such foreign statute or regulation has not expired or approval from the relevant competition authority as may be required by such foreign statute or regulation has not been obtained, prior to the expiration of the Offer, or if, at any time on or after January 27, 2012, and on or prior to the expiration of the Offer (or thereafter in relation to any condition dependent upon the receipt of government approvals), any of the following conditions exist:

 

  (1) there is threatened, instituted or pending any action or proceeding by any government, governmental authority or agency or any other person, domestic, foreign or supranational, before any court or governmental authority or agency, domestic, foreign or supranational, (a) challenging or seeking to make illegal, to delay or otherwise, directly or indirectly, to restrain or prohibit the making of the Offer, the acceptance for payment of or payment for some or all of the Shares by Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the consummation by Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates of the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina, (b) seeking to obtain material damages or otherwise directly or indirectly relating to the transactions contemplated by the Offer or the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina, (c) seeking to restrain or prohibit the exercise of Purchaser’s full rights of ownership or operation by Purchaser or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates of all or any portion of Purchaser’s business or assets or that of Illumina or any of Purchaser’s or Illumina’s respective subsidiaries or affiliates or to compel Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates to dispose of or hold separate all or any portion of Purchaser’s business or assets or that of Illumina or any of Purchaser’s or Illumina’s respective subsidiaries or affiliates, (d) seeking to impose or confirm limitations on Purchaser’s ability or that of any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates effectively to exercise full rights of ownership of the Shares, including, without limitation, the right to vote any Shares acquired or owned by Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates on all matters properly presented to Illumina’s stockholders, (e) seeking to require divestiture by Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates of any Shares, (f) seeking any material diminution in the benefits expected to be derived by Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates as a result of the transactions contemplated by the Offer or the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina or (g) that otherwise, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, has or may have material adverse significance with respect to either the value of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the value of the Shares to Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates;

 

  (2) any action is taken, or any statute, rule, regulation, injunction, order or decree is proposed, enacted, enforced, promulgated, issued or deemed applicable to the Offer, the acceptance for payment of or payment for Shares, or the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina, by any court, government or governmental authority or agency, domestic, foreign or supranational, other than the application of the waiting period provisions under the HSR Act or under any agreement with the Antitrust Division or the FTC or under any applicable foreign antitrust or merger control statutes or regulations (as in effect as of January 27, 2012), that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, might, directly or indirectly, result in any of the consequences referred to in clauses (a) through (g) of paragraph (1) above;

 

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  (3) the government of the United States has not completed its national security review and, if necessary, investigation, under Exon-Florio, and has not concluded that no adverse action with respect to the acceptance for payment of, and payment for, the Shares pursuant to the Offer or the consummation of the Proposed Merger, including any action to impose a condition upon, suspend or prohibit the Offer or the Proposed Merger, is necessary;

 

  (4) any change occurs or is threatened (or any development occurs or is threatened involving a prospective change) in the business, assets, liabilities, financial condition, capitalization, operations, results of operations or prospects of Illumina or any of its affiliates that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, is or may be materially adverse to Illumina or any of its affiliates, or Purchaser becomes aware of any facts that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, have or may have material adverse significance with respect to either the value of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the value of the Shares to Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates;

 

  (5) there occurs (a) any general suspension of trading in, or limitation on prices for, securities on any national securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market, (b) any decline in either the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the Standard and Poor’s Index of 500 Industrial Companies or the NASDAQ-100 Index by an amount in excess of 15%, measured from the business day immediately preceding the commencement date of the Offer, (c) any change in the general political, market, economic or financial conditions in the United States, the European Union or elsewhere that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, could have a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or results of operations or prospects of Roche and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, or Illumina and its subsidiaries, taken as a whole, (d) the declaration of a banking moratorium or any suspension of payments in respect of banks in the United States, the European Union, Switzerland or elsewhere, (e) the nationalization, insolvency or placement into receivership of, or provision of extraordinary assistance to, any major bank in the United States, European Union or Switzerland, or the taking of possession of any such bank by a governmental or regulatory authority, (f) the default by any member of the European Union in payment of, or the inability of any such member to pay, any of its debts as they become due or the withdrawal (or announcement of an intent to withdraw) by any member of the European Monetary Union therefrom or any such member otherwise ceasing (or announcing its intent to cease) to maintain the Euro as its official currency, (g) any material adverse change (or development or threatened development involving a prospective material adverse change) in U.S. dollar or Euro currency exchange rates (including a material decline in the value of the Euro or dollar relative to any other currency) or the markets therefor (including any suspension of, or limitation on, such markets), (h) any material adverse change in the market price of the Shares or in the U.S. or European securities or financial markets, (i) the commencement of a war, armed hostilities or other international or national calamity directly or indirectly involving the United States or any attack on, outbreak or act of terrorism involving the United States, (j) any limitation (whether or not mandatory) by any governmental authority or agency on, or any other event or change that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, may adversely affect, the extension of credit by banks or other financial institutions or the availability of financing or (k) in the case of any of the foregoing existing at the time of the commencement of the Offer, a material acceleration or worsening thereof;

 

  (6)

(a) a tender or exchange offer for some or all of the Shares has been publicly proposed to be made or has been made by another person (including Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates), or has been publicly disclosed, or Purchaser otherwise learns that any person or “group” (as defined in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) has acquired or proposes to acquire beneficial ownership of more than 5% of any class or series of capital stock of Illumina (including the Shares), through the acquisition of stock, the formation of a group or otherwise, or is granted any option, right or warrant, conditional or otherwise, to acquire beneficial ownership of more than 5% of any class or series of capital stock of Illumina (including the Shares) other than acquisitions for bona fide arbitrage purposes only and other than as disclosed in a Schedule 13D or 13G on file with the SEC on January 20, 2012, (b) any such person or group which, on or prior to January 20, 2012, had filed such a Schedule with the SEC has acquired or proposes to acquire beneficial ownership of additional shares constituting 1% or

 

A-2


  more of any class or series of capital stock of Illumina (including the Shares), through the acquisition of stock, the formation of a group or otherwise, or is granted any option, right or warrant, conditional or otherwise, to acquire beneficial ownership of additional shares constituting 1% or more of any class or series of capital stock of Illumina (including the Shares), (c) any person or group has entered into a definitive agreement or an agreement in principle or made a proposal with respect to a tender or exchange offer or a merger, consolidation or other business combination with or involving Illumina or (d) any person has filed a Notification and Report Form under the HSR Act or made a public announcement reflecting an intent to acquire Illumina or any assets or securities of Illumina;

 

  (7) Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has (a) split, combined or otherwise changed, or authorized or proposed the split, combination or other change of, the Shares or its capitalization, (b) acquired or otherwise caused a reduction in the number of, or authorized or proposed the acquisition or other reduction in the number of, outstanding Shares or other securities, (c) issued or sold, or authorized or proposed the issuance or sale of, any additional Shares, shares of any other class or series of capital stock, other voting securities or any securities convertible into, or options, rights or warrants, conditional or otherwise, to acquire, any of the foregoing (other than the issuance of Shares pursuant to and in accordance with the terms in effect on January 27, 2012, of employee stock options outstanding prior to such date), or any other securities or rights in respect of, in lieu of, or in substitution or exchange for any shares of its capital stock, (d) permitted the issuance or sale of any shares of any class of capital stock or other securities of any subsidiary of Illumina, (e) declared, paid or proposed to declare or pay any dividend or other distribution on any shares of capital stock of Illumina (other than the dividend of Rights previously announced by Illumina and payable on February 6, 2012, a distribution of Right Certificates or a redemption of the Rights in accordance with the Rights Agreement), (f) altered or proposed to alter any material term of any outstanding security (other than to amend the Right Agreement to make the Rights inapplicable to the Offer and the Proposed Merger) or issued or sold, or authorized or proposed the issuance or sale of, any debt securities or otherwise incurred or authorized or proposed the incurrence of any debt other than in the ordinary course of business, (g) authorized, recommended, proposed, announced its intent to enter into or entered into an agreement with respect to or effected any merger, consolidation, liquidation, dissolution, business combination, acquisition of assets, disposition of assets or relinquishment of any material contract or other right of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or any comparable event not in the ordinary course of business, (h) authorized, recommended, proposed, announced its intent to enter into or entered into any agreement or arrangement with any person or group that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, has or may have material adverse significance with respect to either the value of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates or the value of the Shares to Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates, (i) entered into or amended any employment, severance or similar agreement, arrangement or plan with any of its employees other than in the ordinary course of business or entered into or amended any such agreements, arrangements or plans so as to provide for increased benefits to employees as a result of or in connection with the making of the Offer, the acceptance for payment of or payment for some of or all the Shares by Purchaser or Purchaser’s consummation of the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina, (j) except as may be required by law, taken any action to terminate or amend any employee benefit plan (as defined in Section 3(2) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries, or Purchaser shall have become aware of any such action which was not previously announced or (k) amended, or authorized or proposed any amendment to, its certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or other similar constituent documents) or Purchaser becomes aware that Illumina or any of its subsidiaries shall have amended, or authorized or proposed any amendment to, its certificate of incorporation or bylaws (or other similar constituent documents) which has not been previously disclosed (in each case, other than to amend the Rights Agreement to make the Rights inapplicable to the Offer and the Proposed Merger);

 

  (8)

Purchaser becomes aware (a) that any material contractual right of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has been or will be impaired or otherwise adversely affected or that any material amount of indebtedness of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries has been accelerated or has otherwise become due or

 

A-3


  become subject to acceleration prior to its stated due date, in each case with or without notice or the lapse of time or both, as a result of or in connection with the Offer or the consummation by Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s subsidiaries or affiliates of the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina, other than pursuant to Illumina’s 0.625% convertible senior notes due 2014 or 0.25% convertible senior notes due 2016, in each case on the terms set forth in the relevant indentures between Illumina and the Bank of New York, as trustee, in the forms filed by Illumina with the SEC as Exhibit 4.1 to its current report on Form 8-K dated February 16, 2007 and Exhibit 4.1 to its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended April 3, 2011, respectively or (b) of any covenant, term or condition in any instrument or agreement of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries that, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, has or may have material adverse significance with respect to either the value of Illumina or any of its affiliates or subsidiaries or the value of the Shares to Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s affiliates or subsidiaries (including, without limitation, any event of default that may ensue as a result of or in connection with the Offer, the acceptance for payment of or payment for some or all of the Shares by Purchaser or Purchaser’s consummation of the Proposed Merger or other business combination involving Illumina);

 

  (9) any required approval, permit, authorization, extension, action or non-action, waiver or consent of any governmental authority or agency (including the matters described or referred to in “Section 15 – Certain Legal Matters; Regulatory Matters” of the Offer) shall not have been obtained on terms satisfactory to Purchaser;

 

  (10) Purchaser or any of Purchaser’s affiliates enters into a definitive agreement or announces an agreement in principle with Illumina providing for a merger or other business combination with Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or the purchase of securities or assets of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries, or Purchaser and Illumina reach any other agreement or understanding pursuant to which it is agreed that the Offer will be terminated; or

 

  (11) Illumina or any of its subsidiaries shall have (a) granted to any person proposing a merger or other business combination with or involving Illumina or any of its subsidiaries or the purchase of securities or assets of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries any type of option, warrant or right which, in Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, constitutes a “lock-up” device (including, without limitation, a right to acquire or receive any Shares or other securities, assets or business of Illumina or any of its subsidiaries) or (b) paid or agreed to pay any cash or other consideration to any party in connection with or in any way related to any such business combination or purchase;

which, in Roche’s or Purchaser’s reasonable judgment, in any such case, and regardless of the circumstances (including any action or omission by Roche or Purchaser) giving rise to any such condition, makes it inadvisable to proceed with such acceptance for payment or payment.

According to the Schedule TO, the foregoing conditions are for the sole benefit of Roche, Purchaser and their affiliates and may be asserted by Purchaser or Roche in Purchaser’s sole discretion regardless of the circumstances (including any action or omission by Roche or Purchaser) giving rise to any such conditions or may be waived by Purchaser in its sole discretion in whole or in part at any time or from time to time on or prior to the expiration of the Offer (provided that all conditions to the Offer other than those dependent upon the receipt of government approvals must be satisfied or waived prior to expiration of the Offer). The Schedule TO provides that: (1) Purchaser expressly reserves the right to waive any of the conditions to the Offer and to make any change in the terms of or conditions to the Offer; (2) Purchaser’s failure at any time to exercise its rights under any of the foregoing conditions shall not be deemed a waiver of any such right; (3) the waiver of any such right with respect to particular facts and circumstances shall not be deemed a waiver with respect to any other facts and circumstances and (4) each such right shall be deemed an ongoing right which may be asserted at any time or from time to time. According to the Schedule TO, any determination made by Purchaser concerning the events described in Section 14 of the Offer to Purchase shall be final and binding upon all parties.

 

A-4


ANNEX B

[Letterhead of Goldman, Sachs & Co.]

200 West Street | New York, New York 10282

Tel: 212-902-1000

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

February 7, 2012

Board of Directors

Illumina, Inc.

5200 Illumina Way

San Diego, CA 92122

Madame and Gentlemen:

You have requested our opinion as to the adequacy from a financial point of view to the holders (other than the Offeror (as defined below) and any of its affiliates) of the outstanding shares of common stock, $0.01 par value per share (together with the associated rights to purchase shares of Series A Junior Participating Preferred Stock, the “Shares”), of Illumina, Inc. (the “Company”) of the $44.50 per Share in cash (the “Consideration”) proposed to be paid to such holders in the Offer (as defined below). The terms of the offer to purchase (the “Offer to Purchase”) and related letter of transmittal (which, together with the Offer to Purchase, constitutes the “Offer”) contained in the Tender Offer Statement on Schedule TO filed by CKH Acquisition Corporation (“Offeror”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Roche Holding Ltd (“Roche”) and Roche, with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 27, 2012 (as amended, the “Schedule TO”), provide for an offer for all of the Shares pursuant to which, subject to the satisfaction or waiver of certain conditions set forth in the Offer, the Offeror will pay the Consideration for each Share accepted. We note that the Offer to Purchase provides that, following consummation of the Offer, the Offeror will seek to have the Company consummate a merger or other similar business combination with the Offeror or another subsidiary (the “Merger” and, together with the Offer, the “Transactions”) in which each outstanding Share not tendered in the Offer would be converted into the right to receive an amount in cash per Share equal to the price per Share paid in the Offer, without interest.

Goldman, Sachs & Co. and its affiliates are engaged in investment banking and financial advisory services, commercial banking, securities trading, investment management, principal investment, financial planning, benefits counseling, risk management, hedging, financing, brokerage activities and other financial and non-financial activities and services for various persons and entities. In the ordinary course of these activities and services, Goldman, Sachs & Co. and its affiliates may at any time make or hold long or short positions and investments, as well as actively trade or effect transactions, in the equity, debt and other securities (or related derivative securities) and financial instruments (including bank loans and other obligations) of third parties, the Company, Roche and any of their respective affiliates, or any currency or commodity that may be involved in the Transactions for their own account and for the accounts of their customers. We are acting as financial advisor to the Company in connection with its consideration of the Offer and other matters pursuant to our engagement by the Company. We expect to receive fees for our services in connection with our engagement, including quarterly advisory fees that will be payable whether or not the Offer is withdrawn and a contingent transaction fee payable upon consummation of the Transactions or certain other sale transactions involving the Company. The Company has agreed to reimburse our expenses arising, and indemnify us against certain liabilities that may arise, out of our engagement. We have provided certain investment banking services to the Company and its affiliates from time to time for which our Investment Banking Division has received, and may receive, compensation, including having acted as joint bookrunner with respect to a public offering by the Company of 0.25% Convertible Senior Notes due 2016 (aggregate principal amount of $920 million) in March 2011. We also have provided certain investment banking services to Roche and its affiliates from time to time for which our Investment Banking Division has received and may receive, compensation. We may also in the future provide investment banking services to the Company, Roche and their respective affiliates for which our Investment Banking Division may receive compensation.


Board of Directors

Illumina, Inc.

February 7, 2012

Page 2

 

We further note that concurrent with the issuance of the Company’s 0.625% Convertible Senior Notes due 2014 (aggregate principal amount of $400 million) (the “2014 Convertible Notes”) in February 2007, for which Goldman, Sachs & Co. acted as co-initial purchaser, the Company entered into convertible note hedge and issuer warrant transactions with respect to shares of the Company’s common stock (collectively, the “Call Spread Transactions”) with Goldman, Sachs & Co. and another counterparty consisting of the purchase by the Company of call options with respect to $400 million aggregate principal amount of Convertible Notes (which were convertible into up to 18,322,320 shares of the Company’s common stock as of the date of issuance of the 2014 Convertible Notes), and the sale by the Company of warrants in respect of up to 18,322,320 shares of the Company’s common stock. The 18,322,320 shares take into account a two-for-one stock split effected by the Company on September 22, 2008. Approximately 90% of the convertible note hedge transactions were previously exercised in connection with early conversions in December 2008 and the first nine months of 2011of the 2014 Convertible Notes by holders of such notes. The balance of the convertible note hedge transactions and the issuer warrant transactions, which were not affected by the early conversions, remain in place as of the date hereof. In accordance with the terms of the Call Spread Transactions, if the Transactions are consummated, the balance of the convertible note hedge transactions would be exercised, which would require Goldman, Sachs & Co. to deliver to the Company shares of the Company’s common stock (or, under certain circumstances, an equivalent value in cash). Concurrently, if the Transactions are consummated, Goldman, Sachs & Co. would be entitled to receive a payment from the Company for the early cancellation of the issuer warrant transactions.

In connection with this opinion, we have reviewed, among other things, the Schedule TO, including the Offer to Purchase and related letter of transmittal contained therein; the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement of the Company to be filed on Schedule 14D-9 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on February 7, 2012, in the form approved by you on the date of this opinion; annual reports to stockholders and Annual Reports on Form 10-K of the Company for the five fiscal years ended January 2, 2011; certain interim reports to stockholders and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q of the Company; certain other communications from the Company to its stockholders; certain publicly available research analyst reports for the Company; and certain internal financial analyses and forecasts for the Company prepared by its management, as approved for our use by the Company (the “Forecasts”). We have also held discussions with members of the senior management of the Company regarding their assessment of the strategic rationale of Roche for, and the potential benefits for Roche of, the Transactions and the past and current business operations, financial condition and future prospects of the Company. In addition, we have reviewed the reported price and trading activity for the Shares, compared certain financial and stock market information for the Company with similar information for certain other companies the securities of which are publicly traded, reviewed the financial terms of certain recent business combinations in the life sciences industries specifically and in other industries generally; and performed such other studies and analyses, and considered such other factors, as we deemed appropriate.

For purposes of rendering this opinion, we have relied upon and assumed, without assuming any responsibility for independent verification, the accuracy and completeness of all of the financial, legal, regulatory, tax, accounting and other information provided to, discussed with or reviewed by, us. In that regard, we have assumed with your consent that the Forecasts have been reasonably prepared on a basis reflecting the best currently available estimates and judgments of the management of the Company. We have not made an independent evaluation or appraisal of the assets and liabilities (including any contingent, derivative or other off-balance-sheet assets and liabilities) of the Company, Roche or any of their respective subsidiaries and we have not been furnished with any such evaluation or appraisal.

Our opinion does not address the relative merits of the Transactions as compared to any strategic alternatives that may be available to the Company; nor does it address any legal, regulatory, tax or accounting matters. This opinion addresses only the adequacy from a financial point of view, as of the date hereof, of the Consideration proposed to be paid to the holders of Shares (other than the Offeror and any of its affiliates) pursuant to the Offer.


Board of Directors

Illumina, Inc.

February 7, 2012

Page 3

 

We do not express any view on, and our opinion does not address, the fairness, from a financial point of view, of the Consideration or any other term or aspect of the Transactions. In addition, we do not express any view on, and our opinion does not address, the adequacy or fairness of the Consideration or any other term or aspect of the Transactions to, or any consideration received in connection therewith by, the Offeror and any of its affiliates, the holders of any other class of securities, creditors, or other constituencies of the Company; nor as to the adequacy or fairness of the amount or nature of any compensation to be paid or payable to any of the officers, directors or employees of the Company, or class of such persons in connection with the Transactions, whether relative to the Consideration proposed to be paid to the holders of Shares pursuant to the Offer or otherwise. We are not expressing any opinion as to the prices at which the Shares will trade at any time. Our opinion is necessarily based on economic, monetary, market and other conditions as in effect on, and the information made available to us as of, the date hereof and we assume no responsibility for updating, revising or reaffirming this opinion based on circumstances, developments or events occurring after the date hereof. Our advisory services and the opinion expressed herein are provided for the information and assistance of the Board of Directors of the Company in connection with its consideration of the Offer, and such opinion does not constitute a recommendation as to whether or not any holder of Shares should tender such Shares in connection with the Offer or any other matter. This opinion has been approved by a fairness committee of Goldman, Sachs & Co.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing, it is our opinion that, as of the date hereof, the Consideration proposed to be paid to the holders of Shares (other than the Offeror and any of its affiliates) pursuant to the Offer is inadequate from a financial point of view to such holders.

 

Very truly yours,
/s/ Goldman, Sachs & Co.
(GOLDMAN, SACHS & CO.)


ANNEX C

 

    LOGO
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated  

GLOBAL CORPORATE &

INVESTMENT BANKING

February 7, 2012

The Board of Directors

Illumina, Inc.

5200 Illumina Way

San Diego, CA 92122

Members of the Board of Directors:

On January 27, 2012, CKH Acquisition Corporation (“Purchaser”), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Roche Holding Ltd (“Roche”), commenced an offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Illumina Common Stock”), of Illumina, Inc. (“Illumina”) at a purchase price of $44.50 per share in cash (the “Consideration”), upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase dated January 27, 2012 (the “Offer to Purchase”), and in the related Letter of Transmittal (which, together with the Offer to Purchase, collectively constitute the “Offer”). The terms and conditions of the Offer are described in the Schedule TO filed by Purchaser and Roche with the Securities and Exchange Commission on January 27, 2012, as amended through Amendment No. 4 thereto (the “Schedule TO”). We note that the Offer to Purchase provides that, following consummation of the Offer, Purchaser intends to consummate a merger with Illumina (the “Merger” and, together with the Offer, the “Transactions”) in which all remaining public stockholders of Illumina would receive the same price paid per share of Illumina Common Stock pursuant to the Offer, without interest.

You have requested our opinion as to the adequacy, from a financial point of view, to the holders of Illumina Common Stock of the Consideration offered to such holders (other than Roche and any of its affiliates) in the Offer.

In connection with this opinion, we have, among other things:

 

  (1) reviewed the terms and conditions of the Offer as set forth in the Schedule TO and the exhibits thereto;

 

  (2) reviewed the Solicitation/Recommendation Statement of Illumina to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Schedule 14D-9, in the form approved by Illumina on the date of this opinion;

 

  (3) reviewed certain publicly available business and financial information relating to Illumina and Roche;

 

  (4) reviewed certain internal financial and operating information with respect to the business, operations and prospects of Illumina furnished to or discussed with us by the management of Illumina, including certain financial forecasts relating to Illumina prepared by the management of Illumina (such forecasts, the “Illumina Forecasts”);

 

  (5) discussed the past and current business, operations, financial condition and prospects of Illumina with members of senior management of Illumina;

 

  (6) discussed with members of senior management of Illumina their assessment of the strategic rationale of Roche for, and the potential benefits for Roche of, the Transactions;

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated member FINRA/SIPC, is a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Incorporated

One Bryant Park, New York, NY 10036


The Board of Directors

Illumina, Inc.

Page 2

 

  (7) reviewed the trading history for Illumina Common Stock and a comparison of that trading history with the trading histories of other companies we deemed relevant;

 

  (8) compared certain financial and stock market information of Illumina with similar information of other companies we deemed relevant;

 

  (9) compared certain financial terms of the Offer to financial terms, to the extent publicly available, of other transactions we deemed relevant; and

 

  (10) performed such other analyses and studies and considered such other information and factors as we deemed appropriate.

In arriving at our opinion, we have assumed and relied upon, without independent verification, the accuracy and completeness of the financial and other information and data publicly available or provided to or otherwise reviewed by or discussed with us and have relied upon the assurances of the management of Illumina that they are not aware of any facts or circumstances that would make such information or data inaccurate or misleading in any material respect. With respect to the Illumina Forecasts, we have been advised by Illumina, and have assumed, that they have been reasonably prepared on a basis reflecting the best currently available estimates and good faith judgments of the management of Illumina as to the future financial performance of Illumina. We have not made or been provided with any independent evaluation or appraisal of the assets or liabilities (contingent or otherwise) of Illumina, nor have we made any physical inspection of the properties or assets of Illumina.

We express no view or opinion as to any terms or other aspects of the Transactions (other than the Consideration offered to the holders of Illumina Common Stock in the Offer, to the extent expressly specified herein), including, without limitation, the form or structure of the Transactions. Our opinion is limited to the adequacy, from a financial point of view, to the holders of Illumina Common Stock of the Consideration offered to such holders (other than Roche and any of its affiliates) in the Offer and no opinion or view is expressed with respect to any consideration offered in connection with the Transactions to, or received in connection therewith by, the holders of any class of securities, creditors or other constituencies of any party. In addition, no opinion or view is expressed with respect to the adequacy or fairness (financial or otherwise) of the Consideration offered in connection with the Transactions or the amount, nature or any other aspect of any compensation to any of the officers, directors or employees of Illumina or Roche, or class of such persons, relative to the Consideration.

Furthermore, no opinion or view is expressed as to the relative merits of the Transactions in comparison to other strategies or transactions that might be available to Illumina or in which Illumina might engage. We are not expressing any opinion as to the prices at which Illumina Common Stock will trade at any time. In addition, we express no opinion or recommendation as to whether any holder of shares of Illumina Common Stock should tender such shares in connection with the Offer or any related matter.

We have acted as financial advisor to Illumina in connection with its consideration of the Offer and other matters pursuant to our engagement by Illumina and will receive certain fees for our services, including quarterly advisory fees that will be payable whether or not the Offer is withdrawn and a contingent fee payable in connection with certain sale transactions involving Illumina (including the Offer, if consummated). In addition, Illumina has agreed to reimburse our expenses and indemnify us against certain liabilities arising out of our engagement.

We and our affiliates comprise a full service securities firm and commercial bank engaged in securities, commodities and derivatives trading, foreign exchange and other brokerage activities, and principal investing as well as providing investment,

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated member FINRA/SIPC, is a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Incorporated

One Bryant Park, New York, NY 10036


The Board of Directors

Illumina, Inc.

Page 3

 

corporate and private banking, asset and investment management, financing and financial advisory services and other commercial services and products to a wide range of companies, governments and individuals. In the ordinary course of our businesses, we and our affiliates may invest on a principal basis or on behalf of customers or manage funds that invest, make or hold long or short positions, finance positions or trade or otherwise effect transactions in equity, debt or other securities or financial instruments (including derivatives, bank loans or other obligations) of Illumina, Roche and certain of their respective affiliates.

We and our affiliates in the past have provided, currently are providing, and in the future may provide, investment banking, commercial banking and other financial services to Illumina and its affiliates and have received or in the future may receive compensation for the rendering of these services, including, during the two-year period prior to the date hereof, (i) having acted as manager on certain convertible debt offerings of Illumina, (ii) having acted or acting as a lender under certain credit facilities and letters of credit for Illumina and certain of its affiliates, and (iii) having provided or providing certain treasury and management products and services to Illumina and certain of its affiliates.

In addition, we and our affiliates in the past have provided, currently are providing, and in the future may provide, investment banking, commercial banking and other financial services to Roche and its affiliates and have received or in the future may receive compensation for the rendering of these services, including, during the two-year period prior to the date hereof, (i) having acted or acting as a lender under certain credit facilities and letters of credit for an affiliate of Roche, (ii) having provided or providing certain foreign exchange and equity linked products and trading services to Roche and certain of its affiliates, and (iii) having provided or providing certain treasury and management products and services to Roche and certain of its affiliates.

It is understood that this letter is for the benefit and use of the Board of Directors of Illumina in connection with and for purposes of its evaluation of the Offer.

Our opinion is necessarily based on financial, economic, monetary, market and other conditions and circumstances as in effect on, and the information made available to us as of, the date hereof. It should be understood that subsequent developments may affect this opinion, and we do not have any obligation to update, revise, or reaffirm this opinion. The issuance of this opinion was approved by our Americas Fairness Opinion Review Committee.

Based upon and subject to the foregoing, including the various assumptions and limitations set forth herein, we are of the opinion on the date hereof that the Consideration offered to the holders of Illumina Common Stock (other than Roche and any of its affiliates) pursuant to the Offer is inadequate, from a financial point of view, to such holders.

Very truly yours,

MERRILL LYNCH, PIERCE, FENNER & SMITH

              INCORPORATED

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated member FINRA/SIPC, is a subsidiary of Bank of America Corporation

 

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner and Smith Incorporated

One Bryant Park, New York, NY 10036

Exhibit (a)(6)

 

ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN
& DOWD LLP

RANDALL J. BARON (150796)

A. RICK ATWOOD, JR. (156529)

DAVID T. WISSBROECKER (243867)

DAVID A. KNOTTS (235338)

EUN JIN LEE (264208)

655 West Broadway, Suite 1900

San Diego, CA 92101

Telephone: 619/231-1058

619/231-7423 (fax)

 

Attorneys for Plaintiff

   LOGO

[Additional counsel appear on signature page.]

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

COUNTY OF SAN DIEGO

 

ERSTE-SPARINVEST   )     Case No. 37-2012-00091428-CU-BT-CTL
KAPITALANLAGEGESELLSCHAFT   )    
M.B.H., Individually and on Behalf of All   )     CLASS AND DERIVATIVE ACTION
Others Similarly Situated and Derivatively on   )    
Behalf of ILLUMINA, INC.   )     SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND
    )     DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH
  Plaintiff,   )     OF FIDUCIARY DUTY
    )    

vs.

    )    
    )    
WILLIAM H. RASTETTER,   )    
JAY T. FLATLEY,   )    
BLAINE BOWMAN,   )    
DANIEL M. BRADBURY,   )    
KARIN EASTHAM,   )    
PAUL C. GRINT,   )    
GERALD MÖLLER,   )    
DAVID R. WALT,   )    
ROY WHITFIELD and   )    
DOES 1-25, inclusive,   )    
    )    
  Defendants,   )    

– and –

    )    
    )    
ILLUMINA, INC., a Delaware corporation,     )    
    )    
  Nominal Party.   )    

 

  )     DEMAND FOR JURY TRIAL

 

 

SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


SUMMARY OF THE ACTION

1. This is a shareholder class and derivative action on behalf of Illumina, Inc. (“Illumina” or the “Company”) and its public shareholders against the members of the Company’s Board of Directors (“Board”) arising out of their breaches of fiduciary duty related to their self-interested and unreasonable responses to a premium, non-coercive buyout offer for Illumina made by Roche Holding Ltd. (“Roche”), and for defendants’ illegal breaches of fiduciary duty in attempting to entrench themselves at the Company, all of which are actions that are substantially unfair to the Company’s public shareholders and have caused and/or will cause significant injury to them.

2. Headquartered in San Diego, Illumina is a company that develops and markets products and services for DNA, RNA, and protein analysis. The Company provides researchers with the capability to perform genetic tests needed to extract medical information from advances in genomics and proteomics. The Company’s customers include genomic research centers, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, clinical research organizations and biotechnology companies.

3. The members of the Company’s Board and the Company’s President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) are rewarded handsomely for the positions they hold. Jay T. Flatley (“Flatley”), the Company’s CEO and President, received over $6.6 million in compensation, bonuses and other benefits for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011. The members of the Company’s Board – many of whom have served on the Board with Flatley for many years – have been paid almost half a million each in fees, stock options and the like for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011.

4. Defendants’ ongoing receipt of this corporate largesse came under threat around December 2011, when Roche indicated an interest in engaging the Board of Illumina in discussions regarding a potential transaction. On January 3, 2012, Roche made a private, formal offer of $40.00 per share. Rather than considering Roche’s efforts and non-coercive offer in good faith, defendants rejected it out of hand.

5. Left with no other option, on January 25, 2012, Roche publicized its unsuccessful efforts at engaging the Illumina Board, and announced that it would be making a tender offer directly to the Company’s shareholders at $44.50 per share. Roche noted that its offer would be fully financed (i.e. , Roche would pay for Illumina with Roche’s available cash), and would provide Illumina shareholders immediate, certain premium value for their shares.

 

- 1 -

 

SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


6. Again, defendants refused to consider Roche’s premium, non-coercive offer in good faith. Instead, in bad faith and for self-interested reasons, the Board adopted a shareholder rights plan to prevent Roche or any potential acquiror from purchasing 15% or more of Illumina (the “Poison Pill”). The Poison Pill, in combination with the Company’s existing defensive devices (described more fully below) effectively make a takeover of the Company impossible without the defendants’ acquiescence.

7. On January 27, 2012, Roche announced that it was commencing a tender offer for all outstanding common shares of Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash (the “Tender Offer”). The Tender Offer is conditioned on, among other things, the redemption or invalidation of the Poison Pill.

8. Thus, due to actions of defendants, Illumina shareholders cannot freely sell their shares to Roche (or to any other potential bidder for the Company) in exchange for the $44.50 per share in cash. While shareholders are being unjustly denied the opportunity to receive a substantial premium for their Illumina stock, whether from Roche or some other alternative acquiror, defendants are sitting securely behind a veritable fortress of entrenchment devices that prohibit the Company’s shareholders from being able to freely sell their stock to Roche or any other potential acquiror. Without the intervention of this Court, it will be impossible, in practical terms, for the Company’s public shareholders to receive the premium being offered for their stock by Roche or any other potential acquiror. In short, defendants are holding the Company and its public shareholders hostage for the improper purpose of entrenching themselves in power, thereby violating their fiduciary duties of loyalty, due care, independence, good faith and fair dealing.

JURISDICTION AND VENUE

9. This Court has jurisdiction over defendants because they conduct business in California and/or are citizens of California. This action is not removable.

10. Venue is proper in this Court because the conduct at issue took place and had an effect in this County. Illumina’s principal place of business is located at 5200 Illumina Way, San Diego, California.

 

- 2 -

 

SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


PARTIES

11. Plaintiff Erste-Sparinvest Kapitalanlagegesellschaft M.B.H. (“Erste-Sparinvest”) is a capital investment company based in Vienna, Austria. Through its fund, ESPA STOCK BIOTEC, plaintiff Erste-Sparinvest is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a shareholder of Illumina.

12. Nominal party Illumina is a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business at 5200 Illumina Way, San Diego, California 92122.

13. Defendant William H. Rastetter (“Rastetter”) is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director and Chairman of the Board of Illumina. Rastetter has been a director since November 1998 and Chairman of the Board since January 2005. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Rastetter received $452,215 in compensation for serving as a director.

14. Defendant Flatley is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director on the Board of Illumina. Flatley also is, and at all times relevant hereto was, the President and CEO of Illumina. Flatley was appointed President and CEO of Illumina in 1999. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Flatley received $6,608,974 in compensation for serving as an executive of the Company.

15. Defendant Blaine Bowman (“Bowman”) is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director on the Board of Illumina. Bowman has been a director since January 2007. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Bowan received $452,215 in compensation for serving as a director.

16. Defendant Daniel M. Bradbury (“Bradbury”) is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director on the Board of Illumina. Bradbury has been a director since January 2004. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Bradbury received $419,940 in compensation for serving as a director.

17. Defendant Karin Eastham (“Eastham”) is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director on the Board of Illumina. Eastham has been a director since July 2004. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Eastham received $459,293 in compensation for serving as a director.

18. Defendant Paul C. Grint (“Grint”) is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director on the Board of Illumina. Grint has been a director since April 2005. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Grint received $443,727 in compensation for serving as a director.

 

- 3 -

 

SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


19. Defendant Gerald Möller (“Möller”) is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director on the Board of Illumina. Möller has been a director since July 2010. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Möller received $763,003 in compensation for serving as a director.

20. Defendant David R. Walt (“Walt”) is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director on the Board of Illumina. Walt is also one of the founders of the Company and has been a director since June 1998. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Walt received $412,215 in compensation for serving as a director.

21. Defendant Roy Whitfield (“Whitfield”) is, and at all times relevant hereto was, a director on the Board of Illumina. Whitfield has been a director since January 2007. For the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011, Whitfield received $448,727 in compensation for serving as a director.

22. The defendants identified in ¶¶13-21 collectively constitute the entirety of the Company’s Board. These individuals are hereinafter referred to as the “Individual Defendants.”

23. The true names and capacities of defendants sued herein under California Code of Civil Procedure §474 as Does 1 through 25, inclusive, are presently not known to plaintiff, who therefore sues these defendants by such fictitious names. Plaintiff will seek to amend this Complaint and include these Doe defendants’ true names and capacities when they are ascertained. Each of the fictitiously named defendants is responsible in some manner for the conduct alleged herein and for the injuries suffered by the Class.

24. By virtue of their positions as directors, and/or officers of Illumina and/or their exercise of control and ownership over the business and corporate affairs of Illumina, the Individual Defendants have, and at all relevant times had, the power to control and influence and did control and influence and cause Illumina to engage in the practices complained of herein. Each Individual Defendant owed and owes Illumina and its shareholders fiduciary obligations and were and are required to: (1) use their ability to control and manage Illumina in a fair, just and equitable manner; (2) act in furtherance of the best interests of Illumina and its shareholders; (3) act to maximize shareholder value in connection with any change in ownership and control to the extent consistent with governing statutes; (4) govern Illumina in such a manner as to heed the expressed views of its public shareholders; (5) refrain from abusing their positions of control; and (6) not favor their own interests at the expense of Illumina and its public shareholders.

 

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25. Each defendant herein is sued individually and as an aider and abettor and in his or her capacity as a director of Illumina. The liability of each of the defendants arises from the fact that they have engaged in all or part of the unlawful acts, plans, schemes, or transactions complained of herein.

FIDUCIARY DUTIES OF THE INDIVIDUAL DEFENDANTS

26. By reason of the Individual Defendants’ positions with the Company as officers and/or directors, said individuals are in a fiduciary relationship with plaintiff and the other public stockholders of Illumina and owe the Company, as well as plaintiff and the other members of the Class, a duty of highest good faith, fair dealing, loyalty and full, candid and adequate disclosure.

27. The claims are brought under Delaware state law which requires every corporate director to act in good faith, in the best interests of a corporation and its shareholders, and to act with such care, including reasonable inquiry, as would be expected of an ordinarily prudent person. In a situation where a bona fide offer is presented to a company that represents a substantial premium over the trading price of its stock, the applicable state law requires the directors to take all steps reasonably required to properly evaluate and respond accordingly to the offer. To diligently comply with this duty, the directors of a corporation may not take any action that:

(a) adversely affects the value provided to the corporation’s shareholders;

(b) contractually prohibits them from complying with or carrying out their fiduciary duties;

(c) discourages or inhibits alternative offers to purchase the corporation or its assets; or

(d) will otherwise adversely affect their duty to search and secure the best value reasonably available under the circumstances for the corporation’s shareholders.

28. In accordance with their duties of loyalty and good faith, the Individual Defendants, as directors and/or officers of Illumina, are obligated to refrain from:

(a) participating in any transaction where the directors’ or officers’ loyalties are divided;

 

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(b) participating in any transaction where the directors or officers receive or are entitled to receive a personal financial benefit not equally shared by the public shareholders of the corporation;

(c) unjustly enriching themselves at the expense or to the detriment of the public shareholders; and/or

(d) unjustly entrenching themselves as managers and/or officers of the Company by failing to give adequate consideration to legitimate bids for the Company.

29. The Individual Defendants also owe the Company’s stockholders fiduciary duties of truthfulness and candor under Delaware law, which include the requirement to disclose all material facts concerning their recommendation against the Tender Offer.

30. Plaintiff alleges herein that the Individual Defendants, separately and together, in connection with the offer, violated the fiduciary duties owed to Illumina and its public shareholders, including their duties of loyalty, good faith and independence – as they have failed to give proper and good faith consideration to Roche’s attempts to negotiate a transaction, they have failed to give proper and good faith consideration to Roche’s offer, which represents a significant premium for the Company’s shareholders, they have failed to disclose all material facts concerning their recommendation against the Tender Offer, and they have enacted and maintained improper defensive measures – for the sole purpose of entrenching themselves in lucrative positions as managers of a large publicly traded corporation, and to obtain for themselves personal benefits.

DERIVATIVE AND DEMAND EXCUSED ALLEGATIONS

31. Plaintiff brings this action derivatively in the right and for the benefit of Illumina to redress injuries that have been suffered and are continuing to be suffered by Illumina as a direct result of defendants’ breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law. Illumina is named as a nominal party in this derivative action solely in a derivative capacity.

32. A true and correct copy of this Complaint was delivered to Illumina before its filing with the Court.

33. Plaintiff is an owner of Illumina common stock and was an owner of Illumina common stock at all times relevant hereto. Plaintiff will adequately and fairly represent the interests of the Company and its shareholders in enforcing and prosecuting its rights. Plaintiff has retained counsel experienced in these types of actions to prosecute claims on the Company’s behalf.

 

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34. Any demand made by plaintiff to the Illumina Board to institute this action is excused. Based on all the allegations in this Complaint and defendants’ actions to date, including their repeated acts of entrenchment and refusal to protect the interests of Illumina and its shareholders by responding in good faith to value-maximizing alternatives for the Company, such demand would be a futile and useless act. Each of the members of the Board has directly participated in the wrongs complained of herein, which disables them from acting independently, objectively or in good faith to advance the interests of Illumina or respond to a demand by shareholders. The Board consists of nine directors, each of whom is a defendant herein. Defendant Flatley, by virtue of his position as President and CEO of Illumina, maintains complete control over any decisions required to be made by the Board, including any action to be taken in response to a demand made by shareholders. The Board and the Company’s President/CEO are not disinterested or independent as detailed herein and set forth below:

(a) Each of the defendants served on the Illumina Board during the relevant period and each Board member was charged with oversight and operation of the Company and the conduct of its business affairs. Each of the defendants has breached the fiduciary duties owed to Illumina and its shareholders by, among other things, failing to take reasonable steps to protect and advance the interests of the Company in furtherance of their plan to advance their own interests and/or those of senior Illumina management at the expense of and to the detriment of Illumina and its public stockholders.

(b) Rather than responding in good faith to offers to purchase Illumina, management and the Board acted to protect and promote their personal interests and ensure themselves ongoing control over Illumina and thereby ensure their continued ability to receive the benefits of their positions as directors of Illumina and/or as the President/CEO of Illumina.

(c) Even though certain defendants claim to be independent directors because they are not directly employed by the Company, none of these defendants are truly independent because they each have personal and/or professional conflicts of interest with other members of the Board. As a result of these long-standing personal and professional relationships, demand on the Board would be futile.

 

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(d) Because the Board has utilized defensive measures to fend off potential offers to purchase the Company, the Board’s defensive actions are subject to enhanced judicial scrutiny because of the omnipresent specter that the Board may be acting in its own interests rather than the interests of the Company and its shareholders.

(e) In taking unreasonable defensive measures, the Board has demonstrated that its primary purpose in doing so was to retain control of the Company. Under such circumstances, there is more than reasonable doubt as to the disinterestedness and independence of the Board, thus making demand futile.

(f) As more fully detailed herein, the Board participated in, approved and/or permitted the wrongs alleged herein to have occurred and participated in efforts to conceal or disguise those wrongs from Illumina’s shareholders or recklessly and/or negligently disregarded the wrongs complained of herein. Its members are, therefore, not disinterested parties.

35. The defendants named herein have not exercised and cannot exercise independent or objective judgment in deciding whether to bring this action or whether to vigorously prosecute this action because each of the Board members has participated in and/or acquiesced to the misconduct alleged herein.

36. The members of the Board have demonstrated their unwillingness to act in compliance with federal or state law or sue themselves and/or their fellow directors and allies in the top ranks of the corporation for failure to do so, as they have developed professional relationships with their fellow board members who are their friends and with whom they have entangling financial alliances, interests and dependencies, and therefore, they are not able to and will not vigorously prosecute any such action.

37. Illumina’s President/CEO and Illumina’s directors, named as defendants herein, have shown their interests to be antagonistic to Illumina and this lawsuit as they have refused to consider in good faith options to maximize shareholder value for Illumina and its shareholders. The members of the Board have not and will not authorize a suit against themselves as such a suit would require these defendants to expose themselves to a huge personal liability to Illumina, as, due to the particular language of currently utilized directors’ and officers’ liability insurance policies ( i.e., the insured vs. insured exclusion), such an action would not be an insured claim.

 

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38. The underlying misconduct of defendants is not a product of a valid exercise of business judgment, and can not be properly ratified by the Board.

39. The Company’s directors’ and officers’ liability insurance coverage prohibits directors from bringing suits against each other. Thus, if the Individual Defendants caused the Company to sue its officers and directors for the liability asserted in this case, they would not be insured for that liability. They will not do this to themselves. The Company’s officers’ and directors’ liability insurance was purchased and paid for with corporate funds for the protection of the corporation. This derivative action does not trigger the “insured vs. insured” exclusion, and therefore only this derivative action can obtain a recovery from the Company’s officers’ and directors’ insurance for the benefit of the corporation.

CLASS ACTION ALLEGATIONS

40. Plaintiff bring this action on its own behalf and as a class action pursuant to California Code of Civil Procedure §382 on behalf of all holders of Company stock who are being and will be harmed by defendants’ actions described below (the “Class”). Excluded from the Class are defendants herein and any person, firm, trust, corporation, or other entity related to or affiliated with any defendants.

41. This action is properly maintainable as a class action.

42. The Class is so numerous that joinder of all members is impracticable. According to Illumina’s SEC filings, as of October 15, 2011, there were over 121 million shares of Illumina common stock outstanding.

43. There are questions of law and fact which are common to the Class and which predominate over questions affecting any individual Class member. The common questions include, inter alia , the following:

(a) whether the Individual Defendants have breached their fiduciary duties of undivided loyalty, independence or due care with respect to plaintiff and the other members of the Class as a result of their rejection and failure to consider in good faith the efforts by Roche to negotiate and/or Roche’s offer;

(b) whether the Individual Defendants are attempting to entrench themselves as managers and officers of the Company in order to preserve their lucrative and prestigious positions at the expense of maximizing shareholder value by failing to give adequate consideration to the Roche offer;

 

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(c) whether the Individual Defendants have breached their fiduciary duty by using a Poison Pill and other defensive mechanisms to further entrench themselves as officers and/or directors of the Company;

(d) whether the Individual Defendants are attempting to unjustly enrich themselves and other insiders or affiliates of Illumina as a result of their efforts to entrench themselves as managers and directors of the Company;

(e) whether the Individual Defendants have breached any of their other fiduciary duties owed to plaintiff and the other members of the Class in connection with their rejection and refusal to consider in good faith the Tender Offer, including the duties of good faith, diligence, candor and fair dealing; and

(f) whether the Individual Defendants, in bad faith and for improper motives, have erected or improperly maintained barriers to discourage offers for the Company or its assets.

44. Plaintiff’s claims are typical of the claims of the other members of the Class and plaintiff does not have any interests adverse to the Class.

45. Plaintiff is an adequate representative of the Class, has retained competent counsel experienced in litigation of this nature and will fairly and adequately protect the interests of the Class.

46. The prosecution of separate actions by individual members of the Class would create a risk of inconsistent or varying adjudications with respect to individual members of the Class which would establish incompatible standards of conduct for the party opposing the Class.

47. Plaintiff anticipates that there will be no difficulty in the management of this litigation. A class action is superior to other available methods for the fair and efficient adjudication of this controversy.

48. Defendants have acted on grounds generally applicable to the Class with respect to the matters complained of herein, thereby making appropriate the relief sought herein with respect to the Class as a whole.

 

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SUBSTANTIVE ALLEGATIONS

49. Illumina is a company that develops and markets products and services for DNA, RNA, and protein analysis. The Company’s tools provide researchers with the capability to perform genetic tests needed to extract medical information from advances in genomics and proteomics. The Company’s customers include genomic research centers, pharmaceutical companies, academic institutions, clinical research organizations and biotechnology companies. Its headquarters are located in San Diego, California.

50. Roche is the world’s largest biotech company. Roche develops and manufactures pharmaceutical and diagnostic products.

51. From around mid-December, Roche made numerous attempts to engage Illumina in discussions regarding a potential transaction. The Illumina Board had a full opportunity to engage in meaningful discussions with Roche, but failed to do so before summarily rejecting Illumina’s fully financed, non-coercive premium offer.

52. On December 13, 2011, Roche’s Chairman and a member of Roche’s Board met with Flatley (Illumina’s CEO/President) and Rastetter (Illumina’s Chairman of the Board). At that time, Roche indicated its interest in acquiring Illumina.

53. On December 21, 2011, Roche’s Chairman indicated to Illumina that Roche was willing to consider a price of up to 50% over Illumina’s then-current share price.

54. On December 22, 2012, there was a news leak that Illumina may be a target for Roche. That leak caused a jump of 7% in Illumina’s stock price and numerous subsequent articles, and media speculation continued to drive noticeable price increases in Illumina stock.

55. Due to Illumina’s continuing refusal to engage Roche in discussions, on January 3, 2012, Roche sent a private letter to formally propose an all-cash offer of $40.00 per share.

56. On January 17, 2012, Illumina sent a letter to Roche formally rejecting the $40.00 offer.

57. On January 25, 2012, Roche issued a press release, publicizing a letter its Chairman had sent to Illumina’s President and CEO, Flatley. In the letter, among other things, Roche described its past efforts to engage the Board in discussions regarding the transaction, the Board’s refusal to engage in good faith and the premium offer Roche was willing to make for the Company.

 

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58. The text of the letter was as follows:

Dear Jay:

While I appreciate the time you have taken to speak with me over the course of the last several weeks, the lack of any substantive progress in our efforts to negotiate a business combination between Illumina and Roche, and your January 18 letter confirming your board’s lack of interest in such a transaction, has led us to decide to publicly disclose our proposal to acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina at a price of $44.50 per share in cash. Accordingly, we will make this letter public simultaneously with my sending it to you.

Roche’s offer price of $44.50 per share in cash represents a substantial premium to Illumina’s unaffected market prices: a premium of 64% over Illumina’s closing stock price on December 21, 2011 – the day before market rumors about a potential transaction between Roche and Illumina drove Illumina’s stock price significantly higher – a 61% premium over the one month historical average and a 43% premium over the three month historical average of Illumina’s share price, both as of December 21. It also represents a 30.1x multiple of Illumina’s projected forward earnings based upon analysts’ current consensus estimates for 2012.

This is a compelling offer and we are confident that your stockholders will find it extremely attractive. We hope that your board will now take the opportunity to negotiate a transaction that will allow your shareholders to realize this substantial value.

We believe that our proposal presents a unique opportunity for Roche and Illumina and their respective stockholders and Roche believes that it is imperative to continue to pursue this matter. The price, with the large premium it represents, is a full and fair one. We have available cash on our balance sheet and borrowings under our credit facilities to complete the transaction and we therefore will not require a financing condition.

As I have expressed to you previously, we are mindful that you and your management team have contributed greatly to Illumina’s success. Roche contemplates continued employment of Illumina’s management and employees following the consummation of a transaction and we are prepared to work with you to develop mutually satisfactory employment arrangements. We intend to continue the Illumina legacy within the Roche Diagnostics Division, and to maintain the Illumina brand. To that end, we intend to combine our existing Roche Applied Science business with Illumina and move the business area’s headquarters to San Diego, California. We believe this approach should be attractive to your management and employees.

Roche has attempted to engage Illumina’s management and Board of Directors in a discussion on the merits of a business combination. Unfortunately, Illumina has been unwilling to engage in any meaningful dialogue on this matter. Therefore, while Roche continues to prefer a negotiated transaction with Illumina, Roche intends to promptly commence a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash. Additionally, in view of your board’s response, we plan to nominate a slate of directors and make certain other proposals for the consideration of shareholders at Illumina’s 2012 annual meeting which, if adopted, would result in Roche-nominated directors comprising a majority of your board.

We have engaged Greenhill & Co., LLC and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. as financial advisors and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP as legal counsel to assist in completing this transaction. If you are willing to fully engage with us, we and our

 

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advisors are ready to meet with your representatives at any time to discuss this proposal and to answer any questions you have. We believe that time is of the essence and are prepared to move forward expeditiously by committing all necessary resources to complete a transaction promptly. If you are interested in discussing a possible negotiated transaction, please contact me as soon as possible.

 

Very truly yours,
Dr. Franz B. Humer
Chairman, Roche Holding Ltd.

59. Also in the same January 25, 2012 press release, Roche announced that due to the Board’s unwillingness to engage, Roche had decided to directly approach Illumina shareholders and commence a tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash, or an aggregate of approximately $5.7 billion on a fully diluted basis.

60. The press release stated:

Roche announced today that it is proposing to acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina, Inc. for $44.50 per share in cash, or an aggregate of approximately $5.7 billion on a fully diluted basis. This offer represents a 64% premium over Illumina’s stock price on December 21, 2011 – the day before market rumors about a potential transaction between Roche and Illumina drove Illumina’s stock price significantly higher – a 61% premium over the one-month historical average and a 43% premium over the three-month historical average of Illumina’s share price, both as of December 21. It also represents a 30.1x multiple of Illumina’s projected forward earnings based upon analysts’ current consensus estimates for 2012.

Together, the capabilities of Roche’s Diagnostics Division and Illumina, a leading provider of integrated systems for DNA sequencing, will strengthen Roche’s position in Sequencing and Microarrays to address the growing demand for generic/genomic solutions. In addition, Roche’s extensive diagnostics experience and global presence will help accelerate the transition of DNA sequencing into clinical and routine diagnostics. DNA sequencing is expected to help to discover complex biomarkers that could become companion diagnostics and be paired with specific treatments in the long-term.

Severin Schwan, CEO of Roche Group, said, “Roche’s all-cash offer of $44.50 per share represents full and fair value for Illumina and we expect that Illumina’s shareholders will welcome the opportunity to sell their shares at a significant premium to current market prices. It is our strong preference to enter into a negotiated transaction with Illumina, and we remain willing to engage in a constructive dialogue with Illumina to jointly develop an optimal strategy for maximizing the value of our combined business.”

Roche has made multiple efforts to engage with Illumina in order to reach a negotiated transaction, but Illumina has been unwilling to participate in substantive discussions. Roche has therefore decided to promptly commence a tender offer to purchase all of the outstanding shares of common stock of Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash. In addition, Roche will nominate a slate of highly qualified, independent candidates for election to Illumina’s Board of Directors and propose certain other

 

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matters for the consideration of Illumina’s shareholders at Illumina’s 2012 annual meeting, which, if adopted, would result in Roche-nominated directors comprising a majority of the Illumina board.

Daniel O’Day, COO, Roche Diagnostics Division, said, “The proposed acquisition will strengthen Roche’s current offering in the Life Science market by providing complementary solutions to our current portfolio. Our ability to offer a total solution to researchers will help enable the discovery of complex new biomarkers improving drug discovery and the selection of patients most likely to respond to a targeted treatment with high clinical relevance. In addition, by building on Illumina’s capabilities Roche will be able to use its scale, global distribution and diagnostic test development expertise to develop new diagnostic tests that serve patients and customers even more effectively.”

Roche intends to combine its existing Roche Applied Science business with Illumina and move the business area’s headquarters to San Diego, California. Roche also plans to maintain operations in Penzberg, Germany, the current headquarters of Roche Applied Science.

Roche’s offer will be subject to customary conditions, including the tender of a majority of Illumina’s shares of common stock. The offer will be financed from available cash on Roche’s balance sheet and borrowings under its credit facilities and therefore will not require a financing condition.

Greenhill & Co., LLC and Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. are acting as financial advisors to Roche and Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP is acting as legal counsel.

61. As Roche noted, the Tender Offer price is a 64% premium over Illumina’s stock price on December 21, 2011 (the day before market rumors of a transaction) and a 30.1x multiple of Illumina’s projected forward earnings based upon analysts’ current consensus estimates for 2012. By way of comparison, according to analysis conducted by Roche’s financial advisor: (i) since 2006, similar transactions in the life science tools industry have seen average premiums of only between 30% and 40%; and (ii) companies comparable to Illumina only exhibit median multiples of 14.6x 2012 projected net income. Moreover, according to Roche’s financial advisor, the Tender Offer price is above the median Wall Street research analyst price target of $34.00 as of January 23, 2012.

62. Immediately in response, rather than considering in good faith Roche’s premium, non-coercive offer and the opportunity to negotiate a higher offer price, the Illumina Board advised the Company’s shareholders to “take no action” and promptly adopted the Poison Pill on January 25, 2012 (the same day as Roche’s press release) and declared a dividend distribution of one preferred share purchase right (a “Right”) on each outstanding share of Illumina common stock, payable on February 6, 2012 to shareholders of record on that date.

 

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63. With certain exceptions, if any person or group becomes the beneficial owner of 15% or more of the Company’s common stock, then each Right not owned by such beneficial owner will entitle its holder to purchase, at the Right’s then-current exercise price, shares of the Company’s common stock having a market value of twice the Right’s then-current exercise price (“Flip-In”). In addition, with certain exceptions, if, after any person has become a beneficial owner of 15% or more of the Company’s common stock, the Company becomes involved in a merger or other business combination, each Right will entitle its holder (other than such 15% or more beneficial owner) to purchase, at the Right’s then-current exercise price, common shares of the acquiring company having a value of twice the Right’s then-current exercise price (“Flip-Over”).

64. In essence, the Poison Pill entitle Illumina shareholders to purchase additional shares of the Company’s stock at a nominal price in the event that one entity obtains more than 15% of the Company’s outstanding stock. In effect, the Illumina Poison Pill requires any party seeking to acquire 15% or more of the outstanding Illumina common shares to obtain the approval of the Illumina Board or else the Rights held by Illumina stockholders other than the acquiror become exercisable for Illumina common shares or preferred stock of Illumina or common stock of the acquiror, at a discounted price that would make any acquisition prohibitively expensive. Moreover, the Flip-Over will cause the capital structure of an acquiring entity to be significantly impaired, and the interest of its stockholders drastically diluted. Thus, the terms of the Poison Pill separately and collectively serve to pose an unyielding impediment to a hostile takeover attempt by Roche (or any other interested third party), and forces potential acquirers to either persuade the Board to negotiate a “friendly” merger or seek to take control of the Company through a proxy fight.

65. But a proxy fight is not feasible here either. Defendants have caused the Company to provide for a Board with staggered terms. The staggered board provision allows defendants to protect two-thirds of the Board from having to stand for re-election by shareholders each year. Moreover, no directors may be removed except for cause and shareholders cannot call special meetings in between the Company’s annual meetings. Thus, in order to take over the Board via a proxy fight, a potential acquirer must therefore wait two years and win two consecutive shareholder elections, a feat too costly for any would-be acquirer to realistically accomplish. The Company’s staggered board is an additional entrenchment measure that makes it almost impossible for any potential acquirer to take control of the Company, even by waging a proxy fight.

 

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66. The staggered board provision may not be altered without a supermajority vote of at least 66.67% of all shareholders. Such a staggered board is known in takeover parlance as an “Effective Staggered Board” (“ESB”), because shareholders lack the effective power to terminate its existence. As noted by legal scholars, not a single hostile bidder won a ballot box victory against an ESB during 1996 -2000, shareholders of targets that remained independent were made worse off compared with accepting the bid, ESBs did not provide significant countervailing benefits in terms of increased premiums to offset the costs of remaining independent, and overall, ESBs reduced the returns to shareholders of hostile bid targets on the order of 8%-l 0%.

67. Moreover, defendants have imposed additional entrenchment mechanisms, including the unilateral ability to increase the size of the Board without shareholder approval, and for defendants to choose who fills vacancies on the Board. Defendants may also unilaterally add or change bylaws without shareholder approval to make a takeover even more impossible.

68. Barred from any realistic opportunity to wage a successful proxy fight for control of the Board, no would-be acquirer could ever cause the Board to redeem the Poison Pill. The combination of the ESB, the Poison Pill and the other devices described herein creates a draconian defensive barrier that precludes any attempt to purchase the Company. With these measures in place, no proposal to purchase the Company can be successful without defendants’ approval. As alleged herein, defendants are improperly and unreasonably using the Poison Pill, ESB and other defensive devices to block and frustrate any attempts to acquire control of the Company, and to further entrench themselves as officers and/or directors of the Company.

69. In sum, defendants are not using the Poison Pill for any legitimate purpose, and instead, are misusing the leverage afforded by the Company’s Poison Pill, ESB, and other defensive devices as a shield to hide behind and entrench themselves in power.

 

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70. On January 26, 2012, Roche responded to the Board’s adoption of the Poison Pill. The press release stated:

Although not unexpected, Roche is disappointed that the Illumina Board of Directors has been unwilling to participate in substantive discussions with Roche regarding a negotiated transaction and has instead adopted this shareholder rights plan in response to the offer to acquire Illumina. Roche’s all-cash offer represents a substantial premium and Roche is confident that Illumina shareholders will see the value of the offer.

71. Left with no other option, on January 27, 2012, Roche announced that it was commencing a fully financed tender offer for all outstanding common shares of Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash. The Tender Offer is set to expire on February 24, 2012 and is conditional upon, among other things, the redeeming or invalidating Illumina’s Poison Pill.

72. The press release issued by Roche stated in relevant part:

Roche, a leader in research-focused healthcare with combined strengths in pharmaceuticals, life science tools and diagnostics, announced today that it has commenced a cash tender offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Illumina, Inc. The offer and withdrawal rights are scheduled to expire at 12:00 midnight, New York City time, at the end of the day on February 24, 2012, unless the offer is extended.

Under the terms of the offer, Roche is offering to acquire Illumina for $44.50 per share in cash, or an aggregate of approximately $5.7 billion on a fully diluted basis. This offer represents a premium of 64% over Illumina’s closing stock price on December 21, 2011 – the day before market rumors about a potential transaction between Roche and Illumina drove Illumina’s stock price significantly higher – a 61% premium over the one-month historical average and a 43% premium over the three-month historical average of Illumina’s share price, both as of December 21.

Roche’s offer is conditional upon, among other things, (i) the tender by Illumina’s stockholders prior to the expiration of the tender offer of a number of shares, which, together with the shares owned by Roche, represents at least a majority of the total number of shares outstanding on a fully diluted basis, (ii) the redemption of the preferred stock purchase rights associated with the shares or Roche’s satisfaction in its reasonable discretion that such rights have been invalidated or are otherwise inapplicable to the tender offer and the proposed merger, (iii) Roche’s satisfaction that the anti-takeover provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law are inapplicable to the proposed merger and (iv) Illumina must not have entered into or effectuated any agreement or transaction with any person or entity having the effect of impairing Roche’s ability to acquire Illumina or otherwise diminishing the expected value to Roche of the acquisition of Illumina. If following the consummation of the offer Roche owns at least a majority of the outstanding shares of Illumina on a fully diluted basis, Roche intends to consummate a merger with Illumina.

73. By the acts and omissions alleged herein, defendants, in violation of their fiduciary duties to the Company’ s public shareholders, have entrenched and are entrenching themselves in power while wrongfully disenfranchising Illumina’s public shareholders. The Illumina Board’s refusal to provide any good faith consideration to Roche’s specific overtures, and refusal to make any attempt to negotiate a higher price, demonstrates the pretextual nature of the excuses being offered up by

 

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defendants post-hoc to cover up their true motive for rebuffing Roche – entrenchment. Moreover, instead of considering in good faith Roche’s non-coercive, premium offer, as a direct response to that offer, defendants have enacted and/or maintained numerous entrenchment devices designed to make a takeover of the Company impossible without their acquiescence. As a consequence, plaintiff and the Company’s other public shareholders have been and, without the intervention of the Court, will continue to be, harmed.

FIRST CAUSE OF ACTION

Derivative Claim for Breach of Fiduciary Duties

Against the Individual Defendants

74. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each allegation as though fully set forth herein. Plaintiff brings this claim derivatively on behalf of Illumina.

75. The Individual Defendants failed to act reasonably or in good faith in an effort to maximize Company and shareholder value. Rather, the Individual Defendants took actions designed to impede the maximization of that value in order to allow them to retain their control over, and emoluments associated with, their positions as directors and/or senior insiders of Illumina.

76. The Individual Defendants have violated their fiduciary duties of care, loyalty, good faith, candor and independence owed to Illumina and have acted to put their personal interests ahead of the interests of Illumina.

77. The Individual Defendants were and are under a duty to:

(a) fully inform themselves of the market value of Illumina before taking, or agreeing to refrain from taking, action;

(b) act in the best interest of Illumina; and

(c) act in accordance with their fundamental duties of due care, good faith, independence, loyalty and candor.

78. The Individual Defendants have violated their fiduciary duties by failing to give reasonable and good faith consideration to offers for the Company that will maximize Company and shareholder value, and by adopting and maintaining a Poison Pill to prevent shareholders from being able to freely decide whether to accept or reject offers for the Company, including the Tender Offer. The Individual Defendants directly breached and/or aided and abetted the other defendants’ fiduciary duties to Illumina.

 

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SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


79. As demonstrated by the allegations above, the Individual Defendants failed to exercise the care required, and breached their duties of loyalty, good faith, care, candor and independence owed to the shareholders of Illumina because, among other reasons, they failed to properly and adequately consider offers to purchase Illumina and take other necessary steps to maximize the value of Illumina.

80. Because the Individual Defendants dominate and control the business and corporate affairs of Illumina, and are in possession of private corporate information concerning Illumina’s assets (including the knowledge of other undisclosed bids for the Company), business and future prospects, there exists an imbalance and disparity of knowledge and economic power between them and the public shareholders of Illumina which makes it inherently unfair for them to reject any proposed transaction or strategic alternatives for the Company for the sole purpose of entrenching themselves as managers and directors of the Company, to the exclusion of maximizing Company value.

81. By reason of the foregoing acts, practices and course of conduct, the Individual Defendants have failed to exercise ordinary care and diligence in the exercise of their fiduciary obligations toward Illumina.

82. The Individual Defendants are engaging in self dealing, are not acting in good faith toward Illumina, and have breached and are breaching their fiduciary duties to Illumina.

83. Each of the Individual Defendants has knowingly participated in the unlawful conduct alleged herein in order to advance his or her own economic interests, or the interests of friends and colleagues, to the detriment of Illumina.

84. By the acts, transactions and courses of conduct alleged herein, the Individual Defendants, on their own and as part of a common plan, and in breach of their fiduciary duties owed to Illumina, are engaging in acts that will irreparably harm the Company.

85. As a result of these defendants’ unlawful actions, Illumina is being and will be irreparably harmed. Unless defendants’ actions are enjoined by the Court, the Individual Defendants will continue to breach their fiduciary duties owed to Illumina and will continue to engage in a process that harms Illumina and inhibits the maximization of the Company and shareholder value.

 

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SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


SECOND CAUSE OF ACTION

Class Claim for Breach of Fiduciary Duties

Against the Individual Defendants

86. Plaintiff repeats and realleges each allegation set forth herein. Plaintiff brings this claim directly on behalf of Illumina’s public shareholders.

87. The Individual Defendants have violated fiduciary duties of care, loyalty, candor, good faith and independence owed to the public shareholders of Illumina and have acted to put their personal interests ahead of the interests of Illumina shareholders.

88. By the acts, transactions and courses of conduct alleged herein, the Individual Defendants, individually and acting as a part of a common plan, have violated their fiduciary duties by disenfranchising Illumina’s public shareholders, and by failing to give adequate consideration to Roche’s offer for Illumina without regard to the fairness of the transaction to Illumina’s shareholders, or the premium that this offer represents to the public shareholders of the Company.

89. As demonstrated by the allegations above, the Individual Defendants failed to exercise the care required, and breached their duties of loyalty, good faith, candor and independence owed to the shareholders of Illumina because, among other reasons:

(a) they failed to properly and adequately consider the premium, non-coercive offer by Roche, or take other necessary steps to maximize the value of Illumina to its public shareholders;

(b) they failed to properly maximize the value of Illumina common shares; and

(c) they ignored or did not protect against the numerous conflicts of interest resulting from the directors’ own interrelationships in connection with their refusal to consider these bona fide and legitimate premium offers.

90. Because the Individual Defendants dominate and control the business and corporate affairs of Illumina, and are in possession of private corporate information concerning Illumina’s assets, business and future prospects, there exists an imbalance and disparity of knowledge and economic power between them and the public shareholders of Illumina that makes it inherently unfair for them reject any proposed transaction for the sole purpose of entrenching themselves as managers and directors of the Company, to the exclusion of maximizing stockholder value.

 

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SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


91. By reason of the foregoing acts, practices and course of conduct, these defendants have failed to exercise ordinary care and diligence in the exercise of their fiduciary obligations toward plaintiff and the other members of the Class.

92. As a result of the Individual Defendants’ actions, plaintiff and the Class have been and will be harmed.

93. The Individual Defendants are engaging in self dealing, are not acting in good faith toward plaintiff and the other members of the Class, and have breached and are breaching their fiduciary duties to the members of the Class.

PRAYER FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, plaintiff demands judgment and preliminary and permanent relief, including injunctive relief, as follows:

A. Declaring that this action is properly maintainable as a class and derivative action;

B. Declaring and decreeing that the Individual Defendants’ conduct has been in breach of the fiduciary duties owed by the Individual Defendants to the Company’s public stockholders;

C. Declaring and decreeing that the Individual Defendants’ refusal to consider and respond in good faith to Roche’s offer to acquire Illumina is in breach of the fiduciary duties owed by defendants to the Company’s shareholders and ordering defendants to comply with said fiduciary duties;

D. Directing the Individual Defendants to refrain from advancing their own interests at the expense of Illumina or its shareholders and exercise their fiduciary duties to act reasonably and respond in good faith to offers which are in the best interest of Illumina and its shareholders;

E. Directing the Individual Defendants to establish a committee of independent directors or, given that no such independent directors exist, engage an independent third party, advised by financial and legal advisors that do not have ties to the Company or the Board, to evaluate strategic alternatives and potential offers for the Company, and to take decisive steps to maximize Company and shareholder value;

 

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SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


F. Prohibiting the Individual Defendants from entering into any contractual provisions which harm Illumina or its shareholders or prohibiting defendants from maximizing shareholder value, including any confidentiality agreement or contract designed to impede the maximization of shareholder value;

G. Invalidating the Poison Pill and/or directing the Individual Defendants to rescind or redeem it and restraining defendants from adopting, implementing, instituting or enforcing any defensive measure that has or is intended to have the effect of making the consummation of an offer to purchase the Company more difficult or costly for a potential acquiror;

H. Awarding plaintiff the costs and disbursements of this action, including reasonable attorneys’ and experts’ fees; and

I. Granting such other and further relief as this Court may deem just and proper.

JURY DEMAND

Plaintiff demands a trial by jury.

 

DATED: January 30, 2012      

ROBBINS GELLER RUDMAN
& DOWD LLP

      RANDALL J. BARON
      A. RICK ATWOOD, JR.
      DAVID T. WISSBROECKER
      DAVID A. KNOTTS
      EUN JIN LEE
     

/s/ DAVID T. WISSBROECKER

      DAVID T. WISSBROECKER
     

655 West Broadway, Suite 1900

San Diego, CA 92101

Telephone: 619/231-1058

619/231-7423 (fax)

 

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SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY


    MOTLEY RICE LLC
      ANN K. RITTER
     

WILLIAM S. NORTON

JOSHUA LITTLEJOHN

28 Bridgeside Blvd.

Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Telephone: 843/216-9000

843/216-9450 (fax)

 

Attorneys for Plaintiff

 

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SHAREHOLDER CLASS AND DERIVATIVE COMPLAINT FOR BREACH OF FIDUCIARY DUTY

Exhibit (a)(10)

LOGO

February 7, 2012

Dear Fellow Stockholders:

On January 27, 2012, Roche Holding Ltd (“Roche”), through CKH Acquisition Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Roche, commenced an unsolicited tender offer (the “Offer”) to acquire your shares of common stock of Illumina, Inc. (“Illumina”) for $44.50 per share.

After careful consideration, including a thorough review of the terms and conditions of the Offer with Illumina’s financial and outside legal advisors, your Board of Directors, by unanimous vote at a meeting held on February 7, 2012, determined that the Offer is grossly inadequate in multiple respects, dramatically undervalues Illumina and is not in the best interests of Illumina’s stockholders.

Your Board of Directors recommends that you REJECT the Offer and NOT TENDER your shares pursuant to the Offer.

In reaching its recommendation, your Board of Directors considered, among other things, that:

 

   

The Offer is grossly inadequate and dramatically undervalues Illumina’s industry-leading position and growth opportunities;

 

   

Illumina is the leader in developing and commercializing tools and services for genetic analysis with an unrivaled breadth and depth of technological platforms;

 

   

The industry as a whole and Illumina in particular have substantial growth opportunities;

 

   

Illumina’s future prospects are underpinned by a robust pipeline of new products and services; and

 

   

Illumina has a long and proven track record of performance;

 

   

The timing of the Offer is blatantly opportunistic and does not reflect Illumina’s strong platform of new products and pipeline;

 

   

Roche timed its Offer opportunistically to capitalize on recent share price dislocation;

 

   

Roche timed its Offer opportunistically to capture for itself the substantial growth opportunities inherent in Illumina’s strong platform of new products and pipeline; and

 

   

The Board of Directors believes that Illumina is on the verge of benefitting from its continuous significant investment in novel platforms and has a promising pipeline that will drive sustainable future growth and value in the near, medium and long term;

 

   

The Offer fails to capture Illumina’s value as an enabler of personalized healthcare;

 

   

Roche’s tactics seek to disadvantage Illumina’s stockholders; and

 

   

The Offer values Illumina at a price below recent trading levels.

A complete discussion of these and the other significant factors contributing to your Board of Director’s recommendation is included in the enclosed Schedule 14D-9. We urge you to read the Schedule 14D-9 carefully and in its entirety so that you will be fully informed as to your Board of Director’s recommendation. Illumina’s Schedule 14D-9 is available at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s website, www.sec.gov . If you have any questions concerning Illumina’s Schedule 14D-9 or need additional copies of Illumina’s publicly-filed materials, please contact Innisfree M&A Incorporated at (888) 750-5835 (Toll Free).

We appreciate your continued support.

Sincerely,

 

LOGO

  LOGO  
Jay T. Flatley   William H. Rastetter, Ph.D.
President & CEO   Chairman of the Board of Directors

Exhibit (e)(1)

INFORMATION ABOUT DIRECTORS

The following table sets forth the names, ages, and positions of our directors as of March 24, 2011. Our directors’ respective backgrounds and a discussion of the specific experience, qualifications, attributes, or skills of our directors that led the Board of Directors to conclude that each such person should serve as director are described following the table.

 

Name

   Age   

Position with Company

William H. Rastetter, Ph.D.(1)(2)(3)

   62    Chairman of the Board

Jay T. Flatley

   58    Director; President and Chief Executive Officer

A. Blaine Bowman(1)

   64    Director

Daniel M. Bradbury(1)(2)

   49    Director

Karin Eastham, CPA(1)(3)

   61    Director

Paul C. Grint, M.D.(2)

   53    Director

Gerald Möller, Ph.D.(4)

   67    Director

David R. Walt, Ph.D.(3)

   58    Director

Roy A. Whitfield(2)

   57    Director

 

 

 

(1) Member of the Audit Committee
(2) Member of the Compensation Committee
(3) Member of the Nominating/Corporate Governance Committee
(4) Member of the Diagnostics Advisory Committee

William H. Rastetter, Ph.D., has been a director since November 1998 and Chairman of the Board since January 2005. Dr. Rastetter is a co-founder of Receptos, Inc., a privately-held drug discovery and development company, and has been serving as Chairman of the Board since 2009. Dr. Rastetter has also been serving as a partner of Venrock Associates, a venture capital company since August 2006. From 2007 to 2009, Dr. Rastetter was Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Chairman of Apoptos, Inc., a privately-held oncology research and development company, which was acquired by Receptos in 2009. At the end of 2005, Dr. Rastetter retired as the Executive Chairman of Biogen Idec Inc., a biopharmaceutical company. He had served in this position since the merger of Biogen, Inc. and IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation in 2003. He served as Chief Executive Officer of IDEC Pharmaceuticals, a biotechnology company, from 1986 to 2003 and as chairman of its Board of Directors from 1996 to 2003. Additionally, he served as President of IDEC Pharmaceuticals from 1986 to 2002, and as Chief Financial Officer from 1988 to 1993. From 1982 to 1986, Dr. Rastetter served in various positions at Genentech, Inc., a biotechnology company, and previously he was an associate professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dr. Rastetter serves as a director of Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company focused on neurological and endocrine diseases and disorders. Dr. Rastetter holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received his M.A. and Ph.D. in Chemistry from Harvard University.

In selecting Dr. Rastetter as a past nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Dr. Rastetter’s scientific and technical expertise combined with his business experience in leading rapidly growing companies in the life science industry. Our continued growth is dependent on scientific and technical advances, and the Board of Directors believes that Dr. Rastetter offers both strategic and technical insight into the risks and opportunities associated with our business. In addition, Dr. Rastetter’s board and executive leadership experience at other life sciences companies provides valuable strategic and governance insight to the Board of Directors as a whole.

Jay T. Flatley has served as our President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director since October 1999. Prior to joining Illumina, Mr. Flatley was co-founder, President, Chief Executive Officer, and a director of Molecular Dynamics, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed life sciences company focused on genetic discovery and analysis, from 1994 until its sale to Amersham Pharmacia Biotech Inc. in 1998. He served in various other positions with that company from 1987 to 1994. From 1985 to 1987, Mr. Flatley was Vice President of Engineering and Vice President of Strategic Planning at Plexus Computers, a UNIX computer company. Mr. Flatley is also

 

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member of the Keck Graduate Institute Board of Trustees. Mr. Flatley holds a B.A. in Economics from Claremont McKenna College and a B.S. and M.S. in Industrial Engineering from Stanford University.

In selecting Mr. Flatley as a past nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Mr. Flatley’s experience in leading and managing our remarkable growth and development over the past 10 years. The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Flatley, through his long experience with the Company and his prior executive and board experience with Molecular Dynamics, Inc., contributes to the board’s understanding of the needs of our customers, the markets in which we compete, and the risks and opportunities associated with our product development and technological advances.

A. Blaine Bowman has been a director since January 2007. Mr. Bowman was formerly the Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, and is currently a director, of Dionex Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed manufacturer of analytical instruments. Mr. Bowman retired as President and Chief Executive Officer of Dionex in 2002 and as Chairman of the Board in 2005. He joined Dionex in 1977 and was named President and Chief Executive Officer in 1980. Before joining Dionex, Mr. Bowman was a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, a management consulting firm, and a product engineer with Motorola Semiconductor Products Division, a communication equipment company. Mr. Bowman also serves as a director of Cell Biosciences, Inc., a privately-held life sciences company focused on protein research through the use of nanoproteomics. He also served as a past director of Molecular Devices Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed supplier of instruments and consumables for life science researchers, from 1985 until its sale in 2007, and of Solexa, Inc. from 2006 until its sale to Illumina in 2007. Mr. Bowman received his B.S. in Physics from Brigham Young University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

In selecting Mr. Bowman as a past nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Mr. Bowman’s understanding of highly technical manufacturing processes associated with scientific instruments, his business leadership experience, and his deep understanding of operational financial issues. We design and manufacture our products, many of which are sophisticated scientific instruments used by scientists and researchers. The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Bowman contributes to the board’s understanding of the needs of our customers and the risks associated with our manufacturing processes. In addition, Mr. Bowman’s experience as a management consultant and chief executive officer of a scientific equipment manufacturer contributes to the board’s strategic understanding and review of our business opportunities. Mr. Bowman also served as a director of Solexa, Inc. at the time we acquired Solexa, and through this position he gained an understanding of the DNA sequencing market, which is our fastest growing market, and associated product development issues.

Daniel M. Bradbury has been a director since January 2004. Mr. Bradbury has been serving as the Chief Executive Officer of Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company, since March 2007, as President and a board member of Amylin since June 2006, and as Amylin’s Chief Operating Officer from 2003 to June 2006. He previously served as Executive Vice President from 2000 until his promotion in 2003. He joined Amylin in 1994 and held officer-level positions in Corporate Development and Marketing since that time. From 1984 to 1994, Mr. Bradbury held a number of sales and marketing positions at SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, a drug manufacturer. Mr. Bradbury serves as a board member of BIOCOM, the Keck Graduate Institute’s Board of Trustees, and the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corporation. Mr. Bradbury is a member of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain and serves on the UCSD Rady School of Management’s Advisory Council, the University of Miami’s Innovation Corporate Advisory Council, and the University of Miami’s Diabetes Research Institute Corporate Advisory Council. He received a Bachelor of Pharmacy from Nottingham University and a Diploma in Management Studies from Harrow and Ealing Colleges of Higher Education.

In selecting Mr. Bradbury as a nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Mr. Bradbury’s management and governance experience in the biopharmaceutical industry gained primarily through his involvement in leading the continuing growth and development of Amylin, a rapidly growing, global biopharmaceutical company. The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Bradbury contributes to the board’s understanding of the risks and opportunities faced by a rapidly growing global business. In addition, Mr. Bradbury’s experience successfully commercializing pharmaceutical products

 

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contributes to the board’s understanding of the risks and opportunities associated with new product development in an industry regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Karin Eastham, CPA, has been a director since July 2004. Ms. Eastham currently provides consulting and executive coaching to companies in the healthcare industry in addition to serving on the boards of directors for several life science companies. From May 2004 to September 2008, she served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, and as a member of the Board of Trustees, of Burnham Institute for Medical Research, a non-profit corporation engaged in basic biomedical research. From 1999 to 2004, Ms. Eastham served as Senior Vice President, Finance, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of Diversa Corporation, a biotechnology company. She previously held similar positions with CombiChem, Inc., a computational chemistry company, and Cytel Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company. Ms. Eastham also held several positions, including Vice President, Finance, at Boehringer Mannheim Corporation, a biopharmaceutical company, from 1976 to 1988. Ms. Eastham also serves as a director for Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Genoptix, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed provider of specialized diagnostic laboratory services, Geron Corporation, a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company, and Trius, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company. Ms. Eastham also served as a past director of Tercica, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company, from 2003 until its sale in 2008, and SGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a NASDAQ-listed biopharmaceutical company, from 2005 until its sale in 2008. Ms. Eastham received a B.S. and an M.B.A. from Indiana University and is a Certified Public Accountant and a Certified Director.

In selecting Ms. Eastham as a past nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Ms. Eastham’s understanding of biomedical research institutions combined with her business leadership and finance experience. A significant portion of our customers are biomedical research institutions, and the Board of Directors believes that Ms. Eastham provides the board with greater insight into the needs of such institutions. Ms. Eastham also contributes to the board’s understanding of governance and strategy for life sciences companies through her experience as a director in our industry. Additionally, Ms. Eastham’s extensive senior management experience in the biopharmaceutical industry, particularly in key corporate finance and accounting positions, also provide the appropriate skills to serve on our Board of Directors.

Paul C. Grint, M.D., has been a director since April 2005. Dr. Grint is currently President of Cerexa, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Forest Laboratories, Inc., a pharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Cerexa, Dr. Grint served as Senior Vice President at Forest Research Institute, Inc., the scientific development subsidiary of Forest Laboratories, Inc. Prior to joining Forest Laboratories, from 2006 to 2008 Dr. Grint was Chief Medical Officer at Kalypsys Inc., a biopharmaceutical company, and during 2006 he was Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at Zephyr Sciences, Inc, a biopharmaceutical company. He has held similar executive positions at Pfizer Inc., IDEC Pharmaceuticals Corporation, and Schering-Plough Corporation. Dr. Grint began his pharmaceutical career at the Wellcome Research Laboratories in the UK and received his medical degree from the University of London, St. Bartholomew’s Hospital Medical College in London. He is a Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists, a member of numerous professional and medical societies, and the author or co-author of over 50 publications.

In selecting Dr. Grint as a past nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Dr. Grint’s product development expertise gained from more than 20 years of experience in biologics and small molecule drug development, marked by the successful development of numerous commercial products in the fields of infectious disease, immunology, and oncology, combined with his understanding of the markets that we serve. Our continued growth is dependent on developing and commercializing new products and services for both the research and clinical markets. The Board of Directors believes that Dr. Grint contributes to the board’s understanding of the needs of research and clinical customers and the risks and opportunities associated with new product development.

Gerald Möller, Ph.D. , has been a director since July 2010. Dr. Möller is currently an advisor at HBM Bio Ventures AG, a Swiss investment firm focusing on biotechnology, emerging pharmaceutical, medical technology, and related industries. Previously, Dr. Möller spent 23 years at Boehringer Mannheim in Germany, Japan, and the United States, where he held a number of leadership positions, including president of

 

3


Decentralized Diagnostics, president of Advanced Diagnostics and Biochemicals, and chief executive officer of Boehringer Mannheim Therapeutics. In 1995 he became chief executive officer of the worldwide Boehringer Mannheim Group. Following Boehringer’s acquisition by Roche, Dr. Möller became head of Global Development and Strategic Marketing, Pharmaceuticals, and a member of the Executive Committee at Hoffmann LaRoche. In addition to Illumina, Dr. Möller sits on several life sciences and diagnostics boards, including Morphosys AG, a Frankfurt Stock Exchange-listed biotechnology company focusing on developing the next generation of fully human antibodies, Bionostics, Inc., a privately-held developer and manufacturer of calibrators and quality control products for diabetes diagnostics test systems, and Vivacta Limited, a privately-held medical diagnostics company. Dr. Möller also is chairman of the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND), a product development and implementation partnership financed in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. He holds a Ph.D. in physical chemistry from the University of Kiel in Germany.

In selecting Dr. Möller as a nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Dr. Möller’s product development and diagnostics expertise gained from more than 30 years of leadership and strategic experience at global pharmaceutical and life science companies. The Board of Directors believes that Dr. Möller’s diagnostics experience, in particular, contributes to the board’s understanding of the growing diagnostics market and the opportunity and an risks associated with such market.

David R. Walt, Ph.D., is one of our founders and has been a director and Chairman of our Scientific Advisory Board since June 1998. Dr. Walt has been the Robinson Professor of Chemistry at Tufts University since 1995 and has been a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor since 2006. Dr. Walt is a Member of the National Academy of Engineering, a Fellow of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineers, and a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Dr. Walt has published over 200 papers and is named as an inventor or co-inventor of over 40 patents, many of which are directed to our micro-array products. He also serves as a board member for Quanterix, Inc., a privately-held company focused on single molecule analysis for clinical diagnostics. Dr. Walt holds a B.S. in Chemistry from the University of Michigan and received his Ph.D. in Chemical Biology from SUNY at Stony Brook.

In selecting Dr. Walt as a past nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Dr. Walt’s scientific and technical expertise combined with his understanding of the markets that we serve. Our continued growth is dependent on scientific and technical advances, and the Board believes that Dr. Walt offers both strategic and technical insight into the risks and opportunities associated with our business. In addition, Dr. Walt’s academic and research experience provides the Board of Directors with valuable insight into the needs of our customers, many of which are scientific research institutions, and the opportunities associated with serving the research market.

Roy A. Whitfield has been a director since January 2007. Mr. Whitfield is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Incyte Corporation (formerly Incyte Genomics), a NASDAQ-listed drug discovery and development company he co-founded in 1991. From 1993 to 2001, Mr. Whitfield served as its Chief Executive Officer and, from November 2001 until his retirement in June 2003, as its Chairman. Mr. Whitfield remains on the board of Incyte Corporation. From 1984 to 1989, Mr. Whitfield held senior operating and business development positions with Technicon Instruments Corporation, a medical instrumentation company, and its predecessor company, Cooper Biomedical, Inc., a biotechnology and medical diagnostics company. Earlier, Mr. Whitfield spent seven years with the Boston Consulting Group’s international consulting practice. In addition to serving on the Incyte Board, he is a director of Nektar Therapeutics, a NASDAQ-listed clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, and he served as a past director of Solexa, Inc. from 2006 until its sale to Illumina in 2007. Mr. Whitfield received a B.S. in Mathematics from Oxford University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.

In selecting Mr. Whitfield as a nominee for election to the Board of Directors, the board considered, among other things, Mr. Whitfield’s management and governance experience in the biotechnology and genomics industries gained primarily through his involvement in leading the growth and development of Incyte Corporation. The Board of Directors believes that Mr. Whitfield contributes to the board’s

 

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understanding of the risks and opportunities faced by a rapidly growing global business. In addition, Mr. Whitfield’s experience as a management consultant contributes to the board’s strategic understanding and review of our business opportunities. Mr. Whitfield also served as a director of Solexa, Inc. at the time we acquired Solexa, and through this position he gained an understanding of the DNA sequencing market, which is our fastest growing market, and associated product development issues.

 

5


DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

Our directors play a critical role in guiding our strategic direction and overseeing the management of the Company. Ongoing developments in corporate governance and financial reporting have resulted in an increased demand for such highly qualified and productive public company directors. The many responsibilities and risks and the substantial time commitment of being a director of a public company require that we provide adequate incentives for our directors’ continued performance by paying compensation commensurate with our directors’ workload. Our non-employee directors are compensated based upon their respective levels of board participation and responsibilities, including service on board committees. Directors who are our employees, such as Mr. Flatley, receive no separate compensation for their services as directors.

Our director compensation is overseen by the Compensation Committee, which makes recommendations to the Board of Directors on the appropriate amount and structure of our programs in light of then-current competitive practice. The Compensation Committee typically receives advice and recommendations from a compensation consultant with respect to its determination on director compensation matters.

We use a combination of cash and stock-based compensation to attract and retain qualified candidates to serve on the Board of Directors.

 

6


Cash Compensation

Annual Retainer

During fiscal 2010, each of our non-employee directors was eligible to receive an annual cash retainer of $50,000, and the Chairman of the Board was eligible to receive an additional $20,000. In January 2011, the Compensation Committee determined not to make any changes to the foregoing annual retainers for the fiscal year ending on January 1, 2012.

Committee Fees

In addition, during fiscal 2010 each of our non-employee directors serving on one or more board committee was eligible to receive the applicable fees set forth below.

 

     Fiscal 2010 Board Committee Fees ($)
     Audit Committee    Compensation Committee    Nominating/Corporate
Governance Committee
   Diagnostics
Advisory Committee

Chairperson

   25,000    15,000    12,500    7,000

Member

   15,000    10,000    7,000    N/A(1)

 

 

 

(1) The Diagnostics Advisory Committee has only one member, who is also the Chairperson.

In January 2011, the Compensation Committee determined not to make any changes to the foregoing applicable fees for the fiscal year ending on January 1, 2012.

Equity Compensation

Annual Awards

In connection with our 2010 annual meeting of stockholders, each of our non-employee directors received a stock option grant of 13,500 shares and an award of 1,800 restricted stock units, or RSUs, in each case granted under our Amended and Restated 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan. These annual awards vest on the earlier of (i) the one year anniversary of the grant date of the option or award and (ii) the date immediately preceding the date of the annual meeting of our stockholders for the year following the year of grant of the option or award.

In January 2011, the Board of Directors, acting on the recommendation of the Compensation Committee, determined to reduce by 20% the annual equity award that non-employee directors are eligible to receive in order to reflect the increase in our stock price during fiscal 2010. Accordingly, for the fiscal year ending on January 1, 2012, non-employee directors will be eligible to receive stock option grants of 10,800 shares and awards of 1,440 RSUs, which grant or award is to be made automatically on the date of each annual stockholder meeting, with a stock option exercise price equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the grant date. Both the stock options and the RSUs will vest on the earlier of (i) the one year anniversary of the grant date of the option or award and (ii) the date immediately preceding the date of the annual meeting of our stockholders for the year following the year of grant of the option or award.

Awards Upon First Joining the Board of Directors

Upon first joining the Board of Directors, each non-employee director is eligible to receive a one-time stock option grant of 28,000 shares and an award of 4,000 RSUs, which grant or award is to be made automatically on the date the individual is elected a director, whether by stockholder approval or appointment by the board, with a stock option exercise price equal to the fair market value of our common stock on the grant date. Both the stock options and the RSUs will vest over four years, with 25% vesting at the end of the each of the four years following the grant date of the option or award.

 

7


Additional Benefits

Directors who receive RSUs are given the opportunity, at the time they execute award agreements providing for the RSU grant, to elect to receive, at the time the RSU vests, a portion of the award in cash rather than in shares in order to enable the director to satisfy his or her obligation to pay the federal income tax that becomes due at the time of such vesting.

In addition to the cash and equity compensation described above, we reimburse our non-employee directors for their expenses incurred in connection with attending board and committee meetings. We do not provide directors with additional compensation for attending board or committee meetings.

Non-Employee Director Compensation

The following table summarizes the total compensation paid by the Company to the non-employee directors for the fiscal year ended January 2, 2011.

 

Name(1)

   Fees
Earned
or Paid
in Cash
($)(2)
    Stock
Awards
($)(3)(4)
     Option
Awards
($)(3)(5)
     Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)
   Change in
Pension Value
and
Nonqualified
Deferred
Compensation
Earnings
   All Other
Compensation
($)
   Total
($)
 

William H. Rastetter

     102,000        77,076         273,139                  452,215   

A. Blaine Bowman

     75,000        77,076         273,139                  425,215   

Daniel M. Bradbury

     69,725        77,076         273,139                  419,940   

Karin Eastham

     109,078        77,076         273,139                  459,293   

Paul C. Grint

     33,512 (6)      77,076         273,139                  443,727   

Gerald Möller

     25,385 (7)      171,240         566,378                  763,003   

David R. Walt

     62,000        77,076         273,139                  412,215   

Roy A. Whitfield

     98,512        77,076         273,139                  448,727   

 

 

 

(1) Jay T. Flatley, our President and Chief Executive Officer, is not included in this table as he is our employee and receives no additional compensation for his service as a director. The compensation received by Mr. Flatley as our employee is shown in the Summary Compensation Table on page 44.
(2) Includes cash received in lieu of stock at the time that an RSU award vests. Please see “Additional Benefits” above.
(3) This reflects the grant date fair value of awards granted during fiscal 2010. Assumptions used in the calculation of these amounts are included in Note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2010, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2011.
(4) Each of the directors, other than Dr. Möller, received an award of 1,800 RSUs on May 12, 2010 (the date of our 2010 annual meeting of stockholders), with a per share value of $42.82 (the closing price of our common stock on NASDAQ on May 12, 2010). Dr. Möller joined the board on July 1, 2010 and received an award of 4,000 RSUs with a per share value of $42.81 (the closing price of our common stock on NASDAQ on July 1, 2010).
(5) Each of the directors, other than Dr. Möller, received a stock option award for 13,500 shares on May 12, 2010 (the date of our 2010 annual meeting of stockholders), with a per share exercise price of $42.82 (the closing price of our common stock on NASDAQ on May 12, 2010). Dr. Möller joined the board on July 1, 2010 and received a stock option award for 28,000 shares with a per share exercise price of $42.81 (the closing price of our common stock on NASDAQ on July 1, 2010).
(6) Dr. Grint waived fees payable in cash for board and committee service totaling $60,000.
(7) Dr. Möller joined the board on July 1, 2010.

 

8


The following table shows the total number of unvested RSUs and total stock options held by each of our non-employee directors as of January 2, 2011:

 

     Unvested RSUs
Outstanding
   Stock Options Outstanding

Name

          Vested            Unvested    

William H. Rastetter

   1,800    312,000    13,500

A. Blaine Bowman

   1,800      84,456    13,500

Daniel M. Bradbury

   1,800    142,000    13,500

Karin Eastham

   1,800    122,000    13,500

Paul C. Grint

   1,800    106,000    13,500

Gerald Möller

   4,000            —    28,000

David R. Walt

   1,800    162,000    13,500

Roy A. Whitfield

   1,800      84,456    13,500

 

9


STOCK OWNERSHIP OF

PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS AND MANAGEMENT

The following table sets forth the number of shares of our common stock beneficially owned by each of our directors and director nominees and each executive officer named in the Summary Compensation Table (the “Named Executive Officers”), and by all of our directors, director nominees, and executive officers as a group.

The information set forth below is as of February 28, 2011 and is based upon information supplied or confirmed by the named individuals. The address of each person named in the table below is c/o Illumina, Inc., 9885 Towne Centre Dr., San Diego, California 92121.

 

Name of Beneficial Owner

   Common Stock
Beneficially Owned
(Excluding Stock
Options)(1)
   Stock Options
Exercisable Within
60 Days of
February 28, 2011
     Total Common
Stock Beneficially
Owned(1)
     Percent of
Common Stock(2)
 

Jay T. Flatley(3)

       283,826      1,768,437         2,052,263         1.6

Christian O. Henry

           7,136      246,670         253,806         *   

Christian G. Cabou(4)

         10,459      62,061         72,520         *   

Tristan B. Orpin

         15,337      242,145         257,482         *   

Mostafa Ronaghi

           2,964      194,394         197,358         *   

William H. Rastetter

         90,680      122,000         212,680         *   

A. Blaine Bowman

           4,000      84,456         88,456         *   

Daniel M. Bradbury

           2,000      48,000         50,000         *   

Karin Eastham

           2,400      82,000         84,400         *   

Paul C. Grint

           2,400      76,000         78,400         *   

Gerald Möller

               —                      *   

David R. Walt(5)

     1,101,046      162,000         1,263,046         *   

Roy A. Whitfield

           2,400      58,000         60,400         *   

All directors, director nominees, and executive officers as a group (14 persons, including those directors and executive officers named above)

   1,523,027      3,203,977         4,732,744         3.6

 

 

 

* Represents beneficial ownership of less than one percent (1%) of the issued and outstanding shares of common stock.
(1) Includes shares of stock beneficially owned as of February 28, 2011. Also includes restricted stock units, or RSUs, vesting within 60 days of February 28, 2011. An RSU represents a conditional right to receive one share of our common stock at a specified future date.
(2) Percentage ownership is based on 127,890,706 shares of common shares of common stock outstanding on February 28, 2011.
(3) Includes 15,000 shares owned by Mr. Flatley’s children.
(4) Includes 1,000 shares for which Mr. Cabou shares voting power with his spouse.
(5) Includes 82,960 shares owned by Dr. Walt’s spouse.

 

10


The following table sets forth, as of February 28, 2011, the amount of beneficial ownership of each beneficial owner of more than five percent of our common stock:

 

Name and Address of Beneficial Owner

   Common Stock
Beneficially Owned
   Percent of
Common Stock(1)

FMR LLC(2)
82 Devonshire Street
Boston, MA 02109

   18,984,485    14.8%

T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc.(3)
100 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

   12,861,180    10.1%

BlackRock, Inc.(4)
40 East 52nd Street
New York, NY 10022

     9,478,201      7.4%

Sands Capital Management, LLC(5)
1101 Wilson Blvd.
Suite 2300
Arlington, VA 22209

     9,055,831      7.1%

Morgan Stanley(6)
1585 Broadway
New York, NY 10036

     8,285,535      6.5%

Prudential Financial, Inc.(7)
751 Broad Street
Newark, NJ 07102

     7,496,586      5.9%

 

 

 

(1) Percentage ownership is based on 127,890,706 shares of common shares of common stock outstanding on February 28, 2011.
(2) This information is based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2011. FMR LLC reports that it has sole voting power with respect to 219,620 shares and sole dispositive power with respect to 18,984,485 shares. We understand that Fidelity Management & Research Company (“Fidelity”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of FMR LLC and an investment adviser, is the beneficial owner of 18,764,865 shares as a result of acting as investment adviser to various investment companies (the “Fidelity Funds”). We understand that the number of shares owned by Fidelity Funds included 311,606 shares resulting from the assumed conversion of certain warrants. We understand that Edward C. Johnson, III, and FMR LLC, through its control of Fidelity, and the Fidelity Funds each has sole power to dispose of the 18,764,865 shares owned by the Fidelity Funds. We understand that neither FMR LLC nor Edward C. Johnson, III, Chairman of FMR LLC, has the sole power to vote or direct the voting of the shares owned directly by the Fidelity Funds, which power resides with the Fidelity Funds’ Boards of Trustees. Fidelity carries out the voting of the shares under written guidelines established by the Fidelity Funds’ Boards of Trustees.
(3) This information is based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 10, 2011. These securities are owned by various individual and institutional investors, which T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. serves as an investment adviser with power to direct investments and/or sole power to vote the securities. For the purposes of the reporting requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. is deemed to be a beneficial owner of such securities; however, T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. expressly disclaims that it is, in fact, the beneficial owner of such securities.
(4) This information is based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 4, 2011.
(5) This information is based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 14, 2011. Sands Capital Management, LLC reports that it has sole voting power with respect to 5,997,426 shares and sole dispositive power with respect to 9,055,831 shares and that such shares are beneficially owned by clients of Sands Capital Management, LLC.
(6) This information is based on a Schedule 13G/A filed with the SEC on February 9, 2011. Morgan Stanley reports that it has sole voting power with respect to 8,090,145 shares and sole dispositive power with respect to 8,285,535 shares. We understand that the shares being reported on by Morgan Stanley as a parent holding company are owned, or may be deemed to be beneficially owned, by Morgan Stanley Investment Management Inc., an investment adviser and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Morgan Stanley.
(7) This information is based on a Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 8, 2011. Prudential Financial, Inc. has sole voting and sole dispositive power over 119,931 shares, shared voting power over 4,128,787 shares, and shared dispositive power over 7,376,655 shares, which are held for the benefit of its clients by its separate accounts, externally managed accounts, registered investment companies, subsidiaries and/or other affiliates. Prudential indirectly owns 100% of equity interests of Jennison Associates LLC. As a result, Prudential may be deemed to have shared dispositive power over the 7,469,676 shares reported on Jennison Associates LLC’s Schedule 13G filed with the SEC on February 11, 2011. Jennison Associates LLC does not file jointly with Prudential, as such, shares included in Jennison Associates LLC’s Schedule 13G may also be included in the shares reported in the Schedule 13G filed by Prudential Financial, Inc.

 

11


EXECUTIVE OFFICERS

The following table sets forth the names, ages, positions, and business experience during the past five years of our executive officers as of March 24, 2011:

 

Jay T. Flatley , age 58

President & Chief Executive Officer

 

1999 – present: present position

 

Joined Illumina 1999

Christian G. Cabou , age 61

Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary

 

2006 – present: present position

 

2001 – 2006: general counsel for GE Global Research, General Electric Company’s advanced industrial research and development industrial laboratories

 

Joined Illumina 2006

Gregory F. Heath, Ph.D. , age 53

Senior Vice President & General Manager, Diagnostics

 

2008 – present: present position

 

2004 – 2008: senior vice president for Roche Molecular Systems, Inc., responsible for its global molecular diagnostics business (2006-2008), global marketing and business development (2005-2006), and global product marketing (2004-2005)

 

Joined Illumina 2008

Christian O. Henry , age 43

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & General Manager, Life Sciences

 

2010 – present: present position

 

2009 – 2010: Senior Vice President, Corporate Develop ment& Chief Financial Officer

 

2006 – 2009: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

2005 – 2006: Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

 

2003 – 2005: chief financial officer for Tickets.com, a publicly traded, online ticket provider that was acquired by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP

 

Joined Illumina 2005

Tristan B. Orpin , age 45

Senior Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer

 

2010 – present: present position

 

2007 – 2010: Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations

 

2002 – 2007: Vice President of Worldwide Sales

 

Joined Illumina 2002

Mostafa Ronaghi, Ph.D. , age 42

Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer

 

2008 – present: present position

 

2002 – 2008: principal investigator at Stanford University, where Dr. Ronaghi focused on the development of novel tools for molecular diagnostic applications

 

2007 – 2008: chairman and chief scientific officer for Avantome, Inc., a privately-held sequencing company co-founded by Dr. Ronaghi and acquired by Illumina in 2008

 

Joined Illumina 2008

 

 

COMPENSATION DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS

The Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors determines the compensation for our executive officers. The Compensation Committee considers, adopts, reviews, and revises executive officer compensation plans, programs, and guidelines, and reviews and determines all components of each executive officer’s compensation. Compensation programs, and the compensation components, for the President and Chief Executive Officer are, additionally, subject to approval by the Board of Directors. The Compensation Committee also consults with management and Illumina’s employee rewards and benefits group regarding both executive and non-executive employee compensation plans and programs, including administering our equity incentive plans.

This section of the proxy statement explains how our executive compensation programs are designed and operate with respect to Illumina’s “named executive officers,” who are the CEO, CFO, and the three other most highly compensated executive officers in a particular year. For fiscal 2010, our named executive officers are:

 

   

Jay T. Flatley — President & Chief Executive Officer

 

   

Christian O. Henry — Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & General Manager, Life Sciences

 

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Christian G. Cabou — Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary

 

   

Tristan B. Orpin — Senior Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer

 

   

Mostafa Ronaghi — Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer

Compensation Philosophy and Objectives

Our executive compensation and benefit programs aim to encourage our executive officers to continually pursue strategic opportunities, while effectively managing our day-to-day operations. Specifically, we have created a compensation package that combines short- and long-term components (cash and equity, respectively) at the levels we believe are most appropriate to motivate and reward our executive officers. The Compensation Committee and our management believe that the proportion of at-risk, performance-based compensation should rise as an employee’s level of responsibility increases.

Our executive compensation program is designed to achieve four primary objectives:

 

   

attract, retain, and reward executives who contribute to our success;

 

   

provide economic incentives for executives to achieve business objectives by linking executive compensation with our overall performance;

 

   

strengthen the relationship between executive pay and stockholder value through the use of long-term compensation; and

 

   

reward individuals for their specific contributions to our success.

Use of Market Data and Benchmarking

We strive to set executive compensation at competitive levels. This involves, among other things, establishing compensation levels that are generally consistent with levels at other companies with which we compete for talent.

During fiscal 2010, the Compensation Committee retained Radford, an Aon Hewitt Company, as the Compensation Committee’s advisor reporting directly to the Chairperson. The Compensation Committee maintains sole authority to retain and determine the work to be performed by Radford. During fiscal 2010, the Compensation Committee directed Radford to conduct a comprehensive formal review and analysis of our executive compensation and incentive programs relative to competitive benchmarks. This review consisted of a benchmarking analysis of our executive compensation philosophy and practices against prevailing market practices of identified peer group companies and broader industry trends. The analysis included the review of the total direct compensation (inclusive of salary, cash bonuses, and equity awards) of our executive officers. It was based on an assessment of market trends covering available public information in addition to proprietary data provided by Radford. The peer group was developed considering companies within the industry that have similar business challenges and complexities where we might recruit and lose executive talent.

The Compensation Committee considered a number of factors in defining the peer group, including industry competitors of similar revenue range, growth rates, employee size, and market capitalization range that we believe reflects the market for talent and stockholder investment. Many of the industry competitors are located in our geographical area, which reflects high-cost of living areas and therefore impacts rate of pay.

 

13


The following companies made up the compensation peer group for fiscal 2010:

 

   

Affymetrix, Inc.

   

Alere Inc.

   

Beckman Coulter, Inc.(1)

   

The Cooper Companies, Inc.

   

Edwards Lifesciences

Corporation

   

Gen-Probe, Incorporated

   

Hologic, Inc.

   

IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.

   

Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

   

Life Technologies Corporation

   

National Instruments Corporation

   

PerkinElmer, Inc.

   

QIAGEN N.V.

   

ResMed Inc.

   

Varian, Inc.(2)

   

Waters Corporation

 

 

 

 

(1) On February 7, 2011, Beckman Coulter, Inc. announced its pending sale to Danaher Corporation.
(2) In July 2010, the Compensation Committee removed Varian, Inc. from the compensation peer group in light of its sale to Agilent Technologies, Inc.

We target our total direct compensation for executive officers at between the 50th and 60th percentile of compensation paid to executives within our compensation peer group. We may deviate from these general target levels to reflect the executive’s experience, the executive’s sustained performance level, and market factors as deemed appropriate by the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee reviews the information prepared by management from the Radford assessment, reviews each component of an executive’s compensation during the current year and prior years (“tally sheets”), and considers an executive’s contribution to the achievement of our strategic goals and objectives, the executive’s overall compensation, and other factors to determine the appropriate level and mix of compensation. An executive’s compensation is not determined by formula but, instead, in comparison to market and within our company to positions with similar responsibility and impact on operations.

Role of the Compensation Committee

The Compensation Committee has overall responsibility for approving and evaluating our executive officer compensation plans, policies, and programs. The Board of Directors has determined that each member of the Compensation Committee is independent within the meaning, and meets the requirements, of Rule 16b-3 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules of The NASDAQ Global Select Market. The Compensation Committee functions under a written charter, which was adopted by the Board of Directors. The charter is reviewed annually and updated as appropriate. A copy of the charter is available on our website at www.illumina.com by clicking on “Company,” then “Investor Relations,” and then on “Corporate Governance.”

The primary responsibilities of the Compensation Committee are to:

 

   

recommend to the Board of Directors the amount and form of compensation to be paid to our Chief Executive Officer, taking into account the results of the Board of Director’s annual performance evaluation of the Chief Executive Officer;

 

   

review and approve the amount and form of compensation to be paid to our other executive officers and senior, non-executive employees;

 

   

exercise oversight of our compensation practices for all other non-executive employees; and

 

   

administer our equity compensation plans.

The Compensation Committee meets as often as it considers necessary to perform its duties and responsibilities. The Compensation Committee held six meetings during fiscal 2010, and it has held two meetings so far in 2011 to review and finalize compensation elements related to fiscal 2010. The Chairperson works with the Chief Executive Officer and the Vice President of Human Resources to establish the meeting agenda in advance of each meeting. The Compensation Committee typically meets with the Chief Executive Officer, Chief Financial Officer, General Counsel, Vice President of Human Resources, our external counsel, and, on occasion, with an independent compensation consultant retained by the Compensation Committee.

 

14


When appropriate, such as when the Compensation Committee is discussing or evaluating compensation for the Chief Executive Officer, the Compensation Committee meets in executive session without management. The Compensation Committee receives and reviews materials in advance of each meeting. These materials include information that the independent compensation consultant and management believe will be helpful to the Compensation Committee, as well as materials that the Compensation Committee has specifically requested, including benchmark information, historical compensation data, performance metrics and criteria, the Board of Directors’ assessment of our performance against our goals, and the Chief Executive Officer’s assessment of each executive’s performance against pre-determined, individual objectives.

Components and Analysis of Fiscal 2010 Executive Compensation

For fiscal 2010, the principal elements of our executive compensation program are summarized in the following table and described in more detail below.

 

Compensation Element

 

Objective

 

Designed to Reward

 

Key Features Specific to
Executives

Base Salary   To provide a competitive, fixed level of cash compensation for the executive officers   Experience, expertise, knowledge of the industry, duties, scope of responsibility, and sustained (and expected) performance   Adjustments are based on an individual’s current (and expected) future performance, base pay relative to our compensation peer group, and internal equity
Performance-Based Cash Compensation   To encourage and reward executive officers’ contributions in achieving strong financial and operational results by meeting or exceeding established goals   Success in achieving annual results   Annual performance-based cash compensation is based on a formula that includes achievement of corporate revenue and operating income goals and achievement of individual performance goals
Long-Term Equity Compensation   To retain executive officers and to align their interests with those of our stockholders in order to increase overall stockholder value   Success in achieving long-term results  

Grants typically consist of both stock options and RSUs

 

Stock options generally vest monthly over a four-year period

 

RSUs vest 15% on the first anniversary of the grant date, 20% on the second anniversary of the grant date, 30% on the third anniversary of the grant date, and 35% on the fourth anniversary of the grant date

 

Given our rapid growth and continued high growth profile, a majority of our executive officers’ compensation has been delivered, and is expected to be delivered, through long-term equity awards

 

15


Base Salary

Base salary is the primary fixed component of our executive compensation program. In general, executive officers with the highest level of responsibility have a lower percentage of their compensation fixed as base salary and a higher percentage of their compensation at risk. Base salary represented a relatively small percentage of total compensation (15% in 2010) for the named executive officers, as set forth in the Summary Compensation Table.

Salary levels are considered as part of our annual executive performance review process, as well as upon promotion or other material change in job responsibility. The Chief Executive Officer makes recommendations to the Compensation Committee for base salary changes for executive officers (excluding himself) based on performance and current pay relative to market practices for executive officers, other than himself. The Compensation Committee reviews these recommendations, makes any adjustments it considers necessary, and then approves the salary changes. The Compensation Committee recommends to the Board of Directors the base salary for our Chief Executive Officer based on performance and his current pay relative to other chief executives in our peer group. The Compensation Committee believes that increases to base salary should reflect the executive’s performance for the preceding year and pay level relative to similar positions in our peer group. Base salary increases also reflect anticipated future contributions of the executive.

Fiscal 2010 Base Salaries

As illustrated in the table below, the average salary increase for all named executive officers in fiscal 2010, other than for Mr. Henry, was 3.7%. This reflects the fact that, generally, salaries of such named executive officers were competitive in relation to our compensation peer group when measured at the 60th percentile. Mr. Henry received a 9.6% increase in his base salary for 2010 in recognition of Mr. Henry’s increased responsibilities serving as our Chief Financial Officer while at the same time overseeing our corporate development functions during 2009, in addition to becoming General Manager of our Life Sciences business unit in February 2010.

 

Named Executive Officer

  

Position

   2009 Base
Salary ($)
   2010 Base
Salary ($)
   % Increase
Jay T. Flatley    President & Chief Executive Officer    725,000    750,000    3.4%
Christian O. Henry    Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & General Manager, Life Sciences    377,300    413,600    9.6%
Christian G. Cabou    Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary    353,900    368,100    4.0%
Tristan B. Orpin    Senior Vice President & Chief Commercial Officer    366,800    379,600    3.5%
Mostafa Ronaghi    Senior Vice President & Chief Technology Officer    325,000    338,000    4.0%

Performance-Based Cash Compensation

In general, annual cash bonuses are paid out under our Variable Compensation Plan, or VCP. The VCP is an “at-risk” bonus compensation program designed to foster a performance-oriented culture, where individual performance is aligned with organizational objectives. The VCP provides guidelines for the calculation of annual non-equity, incentive-based compensation, subject to the Compensation Committee’s oversight and modification. Any executive officer that is hired during the year on or prior to October 1st is eligible to participate in the VCP for that year. Any bonus received by such executive is prorated based on the amount of time the executive officer served during the plan year.

Target Amounts and Weighted Components

For fiscal 2010, the Compensation Committee established target cash bonus amounts under the VCP, calculated as a percentage of each executive officer’s base salary. For our President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Flatley, the target cash bonus amount as a percentage of his base salary was increased from

 

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85% to 100% for fiscal 2010 (as compared to 2009). The Compensation Committee determined that an increased percentage of the chief executive officer’s cash compensation should be “at-risk” and moved the target bonus percentage closer to comparable positions of scope and responsibility when measured against our compensation peer group. For each of the other named executive officers, the target cash bonus amount as a percentage of base salary was 55%, which remained unchanged for fiscal 2010 as compared to 2009.

Under the VCP, the target cash bonus amount is divided into three separate components with the following weighting (as a % of the target cash bonus amount):

 

   

50% based on the achievement of corporate revenue objectives (the “revenue VCP target”);

 

   

30% based on the achievement of corporate operating income objectives (the “operating income VCP target”); and

 

   

20% based on the achievement of individual performance objectives (the “individual performance VCP target”).

The Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors approve minimum, threshold, target, and maximum levels for each component of the revenue and operating income VCP targets. Payments of the applicable component of the annual cash bonus amounts are based upon the achievement of such objectives for the year. No payouts are earned for a component if the minimum level is not achieved. Target and threshold levels represent a range of our desired level of performance that the Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors believe are both attainable and practical based on a realistic estimate of our future financial performance. Maximum levels are designed to motivate and reward realistically achievable superior performance.

At the beginning of each year, the Chief Executive Officer develops corporate objectives focused primarily on financial performance and other critical corporate goals, such as new product introductions, market penetration, infrastructure investments, and consistency of operating results. The corporate objectives are based on our annual operating plan, which is approved by the Board of Directors in January of each year. In addition, the Chief Executive Officer, together with each executive eligible to participate in the VCP, develops a corresponding set of objectives to measure individual performance for the year. The corporate and individual objectives for all named executive officers are reviewed by the Compensation Committee, and both the Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors approve the corporate objectives and the individual objectives for the Chief Executive Officer.

Shortly following completion of the fiscal year, the Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors assess our performance against each of the revenue and operating income VCP targets, comparing the actual fiscal year results to the pre-determined minimum, threshold, target, and maximum levels for each objective, and an overall percentage amount for the corporate financial objectives is calculated. The Compensation Committee (and the Board of Directors with respect to the Chief Executive Officer) also reviews the performance of each named executive officer against such officer’s individual objectives, and an overall percentage amount for the individual performance objectives is calculated. Although the operation of the VCP is largely formulaic, the Compensation Committee and the Board of Directors can use their discretion when determining the pay for our executive officers and also when assessing the attainment of individual and corporate performance goals.

Revenue VCP Target

For fiscal 2010, each executive had the potential to earn up to a maximum of 130% of the revenue VCP target based on the Company’s performance against the following fiscal 2010 revenue objectives (with the

 

17


bonus amount calculated as a linear ratio for points between the minimum, threshold, target, and maximum):

 

     Minimum     Threshold     Target            Maximum  

Revenue Objective ($ in millions)

     755.0        784.0        825.0             850.0   

% of Revenue VCP Target Paid

     50     95     100          130

Operating Income VCP Target

For fiscal 2010, each executive had the potential to earn up to a maximum of 130% of the operating income VCP target based on the Company’s performance against the following fiscal 2010 operating income objectives (with the bonus amount calculated as a linear ratio for points between the minimum, threshold, target, and maximum):

 

     Minimum     Threshold     Target            Maximum  

Operating Income Objective ($ in millions)(1)

     190.0        211.0        243.0             250.0   

% of Operating Income VCP Target Paid

     50     95     100          130

 

 

 

(1) Operating income is defined as the income from operations that excludes stock compensation expense, merger related charges, interest and other revenue and income tax expense.

Example Calculation

We have included a hypothetical example to demonstrate the calculation. For example, assume Executive A’s base salary for fiscal 2010 was $400,000 and that Executive A’s target cash bonus amount as a percentage of base salary was set at 55%. Executive’s A’s target bonus amount would be $220,000 (i.e., 55% x $400,000). Assuming that Executive A exceeded or outperformed all of his or her individual performance goals, Executive A’s actual bonus under the minimum, threshold, target, and maximum financial objective levels could range from between $44,000 and $272,800 and would be determined as follows:

 

     Below
Minimum ($)
     At
Minimum ($)
     At
Threshold ($)
     At
Target ($)
            At or
Greater than
Maximum ($)
 

Revenue VCP Target
(50% x $220,000 = $110,000)

     —           55,000         104,500         110,000              143,000   

Operating Income VCP Target
(30% x $220,000 = $66,000)

     —           33,000         62,700         66,000              85,800   

Individual Performance VCP Target
(20% x $220,000 = $44,000)

     44,000         44,000         44,000         44,000              44,000   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

         

 

 

 

Total

     44,000         132,000         211,200         220,000              272,800   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

         

 

 

 

Performance-Based Cash Compensation Payments

The Compensation Committee met on December 13, 2010 and January 27 and January 31, 2011 to review fiscal 2010 corporate and executive goal performance, make determinations for fiscal 2010 performance-based incentive cash compensation awards based on the performance reviews, and establish the fiscal 2011 executive compensation plan.

 

18


The following table presents the performance-based cash compensation opportunities as a percentage of base salary and the actual amounts earned by each named executive officer for fiscal 2010:

 

Named Executive Officer

   2010 Target
Bonus as a % of
Base Salary
  Actual Bonus
Payout ($)(1)(2)
   Actual Bonus Payout
as a % of Base
Salary(1)(2)

Jay T. Flatley

   100%   922,500    123%

Christian O. Henry

   55%   277,526    67%

Christian G. Cabou

   55%   246,995    67%

Tristan B. Orpin

   55%   258,887    68%

Mostafa Ronaghi

   55%   224,939    67%

 

 

 

(1) These bonuses were paid in February 2011 and reflect fiscal 2010 revenue and operating income that in each case exceeded the maximum financial objectives established for the fiscal 2010 VCP. Accordingly, the revenue VCP component (50% of target bonus) paid out at its maximum level of 130.0% and the operating income VCP component (30% of target bonus) paid out at its maximum level of 130.0%. The individual performance VCP component (20% of target bonus) was determined based on achievement of pre-established individual performance objectives.

Performance-based cash compensation awards made to named executive officers under the VCP for performance in fiscal 2008 and 2009 are reflected in the column titled “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” of the Summary Compensation Table on page 44. These bonuses were paid in February 2009 and February 2010, respectively.

Long-Term Equity Compensation

The Compensation Committee believes it is appropriate to align the interests of executives with those of stockholders. Accordingly, we award long-term incentives to reward performance and align executives with long-term stockholder interests by providing executives with an ownership stake in the Company, encouraging sustained long-term performance, and providing an important retention element to their compensation program. We believe that one of the most effective ways to accomplish this objective is to provide executive officers with a substantial economic interest in the long-term appreciation of our stock price through equity grants in the form of stock options and restricted stock units, or RSUs. In keeping with our compensation philosophy to tie executive pay to stockholder value creation, executives realize value through stock options only to the extent that our stock price increases. RSUs also provide a long-term incentive for executives to remain with us, but do not have an exercise price and accordingly provide some amount of value to recipients regardless of our stock price. During 2010, we awarded approximately 18.5% of our total equity grants to our named executive officers in the form of RSUs as measured by the grant date fair value of the awards.

Determination of Long-Term Equity Compensation

To determine the value for long-term incentives granted to an executive each year, we consider the following factors:

 

   

the proportion of long-term incentives relative to base pay;

 

   

the executive’s impact on Company performance and ability to create value;

 

   

long-term business objectives;

 

   

awards made to executives in similar positions within our compensation peer group of companies;

 

   

the market demand for the executive’s particular skills and experience;

 

   

the amount granted to other executives in comparable positions at the Company;

 

19


   

the executive’s demonstrated performance over the past few years; and

 

   

the executive’s leadership performance.

In addition, the new hire equity grant made to an executive officer upon first joining the Company is based primarily on competitive conditions applicable to the executive officer’s specific position. The Compensation Committee also considers the number and type of equity awards owned by executive officers in comparable positions, including the executive’s prior position. Subsequent equity grants to executive officers are generally considered and, if appropriate, awarded in connection with their annual performance review each January. Such subsequent grants serve to maintain a competitive position for us relative to new opportunities that may become available to our executive officers and to enhance the retention features of the program.

Stock Options

New Hire Awards. Stock options for newly-hired executives may be granted under our New Hire Stock and Incentive Plan or under our 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan, in each case on the date employment with us commences. New hire stock options granted prior to March 30, 2008 vest over a five-year period, with 20% of the options vesting on the first anniversary of the grant date and the remaining options vesting monthly over the next 48 months. New hire stock options granted on or after March 30, 2008 vest over a four-year period, with 25% of the options vesting on the first anniversary of the grant and the remaining options vesting monthly over the next 36 months. Each of the options has a maximum term of ten years, measured from the applicable grant date, subject to earlier termination if the optionee’s service with us ceases.

Subsequent Awards. Stock options granted to executives subsequent to hiring are granted under our 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan. Prior to 2008, stock options granted under the 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan to executives subsequent to hiring vested monthly over a five-year period. Effective January 1, 2008, the Compensation Committee changed the vesting schedule for stock options to monthly vesting over a four-year period. Each of the options has a maximum term of ten years, measured from the applicable grant date, subject to earlier termination if the optionee’s service with us ceases.

Restricted Stock Units

Effective January 1, 2008, long-term equity compensation packages to executives have included grants of RSUs. RSUs for newly-hired executives may be granted under our New Hire Stock and Incentive Plan or under our 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan, in each case on the date employment with us commences. RSUs granted to executives subsequent to hiring are granted under our 2005 Stock and Incentive Plan. Whether awarded at the time of hire or subsequently, RSUs vest 15% on the first anniversary of the grant date, 20% on the second anniversary of the grant date, 30% on the third anniversary of the grant date, and 35% on the fourth anniversary of the grant date. Vesting in all cases is subject to the individual’s continued service to us through the vesting date.

 

20


Fiscal 2010 Long-Term Equity Compensation

The following table presents the long-term equity compensation awarded to each named executive officer based on grant date fair value and as a multiple of base salary for fiscal 2010:

 

Named Executive Officer

   Stock Options
(Grant Date
Fair Value)
($)(1)
   RSUs
(Grant Date Fair
Value)($)(1)
   Total ($)    Multiple of
2010 Base Salary

Jay T. Flatley

   4,007,025    907,500    4,914,525    6.6

Christian O. Henry

   1,226,617    277,800    1,504,417    3.6

Christian G. Cabou

   1,226,617    277,800    1,504,417    4.1

Tristan B. Orpin

   1,226,617    277,800    1,504,417    4.0

Mostafa Ronaghi

   1,226,617    277,800    1,504,417    4.5

 

 

(1) Messrs. Henry, Cabou, Orpin, and Ronaghi, each of whom are “Senior Vice Presidents,” received the same equity award on January 27, 2010, consisting of a stock option award for 67,500 shares and an RSU award of 7,500 shares.

Compensation Mix

The following table shows the mix of base salary, cash bonus, and long-term equity compensation for our named executive officers for fiscal 2010:

 

     Amount ($)      Percent  

Base Salary

     2,244,839         15

Annual Cash Bonus(1)

     1,930,847         13

Long-Term equity Compensation(2)

     10,932,193         72
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total

     15,107,879         100
  

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Bonuses were earned during fiscal 2010 and were paid in February 2011.
(2) Reflects the grant date fair value of awards granted during fiscal 2010. Assumptions used in the calculation of these amounts are included in Note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2010, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2011.

Change-in-Control Benefits

Our executive management and other employees have built Illumina into the successful enterprise that it is today. We believe that the interests of stockholders will be best served if the interests of our executive management are aligned with them, and providing change-in-control benefits may eliminate, or at least reduce, the reluctance of executive management to pursue potential change in control transactions that may be in the best interests of stockholders. As such, we provide change-in-control severance benefits to certain of our executive officers, including each of Messrs. Flatley, Henry, Cabou, Orpin, and Ronaghi. The initial term of all change-in-control severance agreements expired in August 2009, after which the agreements automatically renew annually for additional one year periods unless a notice of non-extension is provided by either party.

For purposes of these benefits, in general, a change in control is deemed to occur in any of the following circumstances:

 

   

any merger or consolidation in which we are not the surviving entity;

 

   

the sale of all or substantially all of our assets to any other person or entity;

 

   

the acquisition of beneficial ownership of a controlling interest in the outstanding shares of our common stock by any person or entity;

 

21


   

a contested election of our directors as a result of which or in connection with which the persons who were directors before such election or their nominees cease to constitute a majority of the Board of Directors; or

 

   

any other event specified by the Board of Directors.

Under the change-in-control severance agreements, the executive would receive benefits if he were terminated within two years following the change of control either:

 

   

by the Company other than for “cause,” which is defined in each change-in-control severance agreement to include repeated failure or refusal to materially perform his duties that existed immediately prior to the change of control, conviction of a felony or a crime of moral turpitude, or engagement in an act of malfeasance, fraud, or dishonesty that materially damages our business; or

 

   

by the executive on account of “good reason,” which is defined in each change-in-control severance agreement to include certain reductions in the executive’s annual base salary, bonus, position, title, responsibility, level of authority, or reporting relationships that existed immediately prior to the change of control, or a relocation, without the executive’s written consent, of the executive’s principal place of business by more than 35 miles from the executive’s principal place of business immediately prior to the change of control.

Pursuant to the change-in-control severance agreements, if a covered termination of the executive’s employment occurs in connection with a change in control, then, with the exception of the Chief Executive Officer, the executive is generally entitled to the following benefits:

 

   

a severance payment equal to one year of the executive’s annual base salary plus the greater of (a) the executive’s then-current annual target bonus or other target incentive amount or (b) the annual bonus or other incentive paid or payable to the executive for the most recently completed fiscal year;

 

   

a lump sum payment of the executive’s earned but unpaid compensation;

 

   

payments of the executive’s group health insurance coverage premiums under COBRA law, including coverage for executive’s eligible dependents enrolled immediately prior to termination, for a maximum period of one year; however, our obligation to pay such premiums ceases immediately upon the date the executive becomes covered under any other group health plan;

 

   

continuance of the executive’s indemnification rights and liability insurance for a maximum of one year following termination;

 

   

automatic vesting of the executive’s unvested stock options and equity or equity-based awards; and

 

   

certain professional outplacement services consistent with the executive’s position for up to two years following termination.

Our Chief Executive Officer is entitled to a severance payment equal to twice the sum of his annual base salary and the greater of his target or most recently paid or payable target bonus or other target incentives and 24 months of continued certain medical and other benefits in addition to the benefits previously described for the other named executive officers.

The change-in-control severance agreements provide that each executive’s total change-in-control payment may be reduced in the event such payment is subject to the excise tax imposed by Section 4999 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and such a reduction would provide a greater after-tax benefit for the executive. Additionally, change-in-control benefits are subject to limitations under IRC

 

22


Section 280G “golden parachute” provisions. A full analysis of the financial impact of these limitations will be performed based on the facts and circumstances in the event a change in control were to occur.

Based upon a hypothetical change of control date of December 31, 2010, the last trading day of fiscal 2010, the change-in-control benefits for our named executive officers would have been as follows:

 

          Change in Control Benefit     

Name

   Severance
Calculated from
Base Salary ($)
   Severance
Calculated from
Bonus ($)
   Medical and
Dental
Benefits ($)
   Fair Market Value
of Accelerated
Equity
Compensation
($)(1)
   Total ($)

Jay T. Flatley

   1,500,000    1,500,000    53,992    22,331,289    25,385,281

Christian O. Henry

       413,600        227,480    21,904      8,156,757      8,819,741

Christian G. Cabou

       368,100        202,455    14,677      7,369,964      7,955,196

Tristan B. Orpin

       379,600        208,780    21,904      6,686,186      7,296,470

Mostafa Ronaghi

       338,000        185,000    19,000      4,421,381      4,947,381

 

 

 

(1) Fair market value of accelerated equity compensation includes the value of unvested and accelerated stock options and RSUs as of December 31, 2010. The value of the stock options was calculated by multiplying the number of accelerated options by the difference between the exercise price and the closing price of our common stock on December 31, 2010. The value of the RSUs is based on the number of outstanding shares that would not ordinarily have vested December 31, 2010 multiplied by the applicable closing share price on that date.

Other Benefits and Perquisites

We do not provide pension arrangements or post-retirement health coverage for our executives or employees, other than the change-in-control severance benefits previously discussed. Otherwise, we provide to our executives medical and other benefits that are generally available to other full-time employees, including dental, vision, and group term life insurance, AD&D premiums, a 401(k) plan, and an Employee Stock Purchase Plan. Our discretionary contributions to the 401(k) plan on behalf of each employee participating in the plan are set at up to 50% of the first 6% of employees’ contributions to the plan, based on our meeting certain financial targets. Beginning in 2008, we began offering a deferred compensation plan to all employees at a Vice President level or higher, as well as to the members of our Board of Directors. In 2009, we extended participation in this program to all U.S. employees at a Senior Director level or higher, and in 2010 we extended participation in this program to all U.S. employees at a Director level or higher.

All of our executive officers participated in our 401(k) plan during fiscal 2010 and received matching contributions.

Tax and Accounting Considerations

Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 limits the deductibility of compensation payable in any tax year to the Chief Executive Officer and the other four most highly compensated executive officers. Section 162(m) stipulates that a publicly held company cannot deduct compensation to its top officers in excess of $1 million. Compensation that is “performance-based” compensation within the meaning of the Internal Revenue Code does not count toward the $1 million limit. We believe that compensation paid under the executive incentive plans is generally fully deductible for federal income tax purposes with the exception of RSUs. However, in certain situations, the Compensation Committee may approve compensation that will not meet these requirements in order to ensure competitive levels of total compensation for our executive officers.

 

23


COMPENSATION COMMITTEE REPORT

The Compensation Committee has reviewed and discussed with management the Compensation Discussion and Analysis set forth above and, based on such review and discussions, the Compensation Committee recommended to the Board of Directors that the Compensation Discussion and Analysis be included in this Proxy Statement.

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED BY THE COMPENSATION COMMITTEE.

Roy A. Whitfield (Chairperson)

Daniel M. Bradbury

Paul C. Grint, M.D.

William H. Rastetter, Ph.D.

EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION

Summary Compensation Table

 

Name and Principal Position

 

Year

 

Salary ($)

 

Stock
Awards ($)(1)

 

Option
Awards ($)(1)

 

Non-Equity
Incentive Plan
Compensation
($)(2)

 

All Other
Compensation ($)(3)

 

Total ($)

Jay T. Flatley

  2010   749,615   907,500   4,007,025   922,500   22,334   6,608,974

President, Chief Executive Officer & Director

  2009   749,162   839,100   3,599,150   498,731     9,778   5,695,921
  2008   647,038   844,875   4,095,022   604,500   27,844   6,219,279

Christian O. Henry

  2010   410,139   277,800   1,226,617   277,526   15,709   2,207,791

Senior Vice President, Chief Financial Officer & General Manager, Life Sciences

  2009   390,203   296,364   1,372,847   159,600     6,502   2,225,516
  2008   343,097   324,850   1,574,514   313,900(4)     6,911   2,563,272

Christian G. Cabou

  2010   367,882   277,800   1,226,617   246,995   17,260   2,136,554

Senior Vice President,
General Counsel & Secretary

  2009   366,677   237,074   1,098,278   153,600     7,659   1,863,288
  2008   336,118   297,758   1,443,305   205,601   10,015   2,292,797

Tristan B. Orpin

  2010   379,403   277,800   1,226,617   258,887   13,118   2,155,825

Senior Vice President &
Chief Commercial Officer

  2009   380,123   237,074   1,098,278   159,200     7,644   1,882,319
  2008   351,150   297,758   1,443,305   217,620     7,671   2,317,504

Mostafa Ronaghi(5)

  2010   337,800   277,800   1,226,617   224,939   12,411   2,079,567

Senior Vice President &
Chief Technology Officer

  2009             —             —                 —             —           —                 —
  2008             —             —                 —             —           —                 —

 

 

 

(1) This reflects the grant date fair value of awards granted. Assumptions used in the calculation of these amounts are included in Note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2010, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2011.
(2) Reflects bonuses earned during fiscal 2010, fiscal 2009, and fiscal 2008 under Illumina’s Variable Compensation Plan (VCP), which were paid in February 2011, February 2010, and February 2009, respectively. The VCP is described in the Compensation Discussion and Analysis, under the caption “Performance-Based Incentive Cash Compensation.”
(3) These amounts represent Company contributions to 401(k) plans, Company-paid physical exams, compensation paid in lieu of paid time-off, and long term disability insurance premiums.
(4) Includes a special bonus of $100,000 in recognition of Mr. Henry’s additional responsibilities as General Manager of Sequencing during fiscal 2008.
(5) Mr. Ronaghi became a named executive officer in fiscal 2010; therefore information has been omitted for fiscal years 2009 and 2008.

 

24


Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table

 

Name

   Grant Date      All Other Stock
Awards: Number of
Shares of Stock or
Units (#)(1)
   All Other Option
Awards: Number of
Securities Underlying
Options (#)(2)
   Exercise or
Base Price of
Option
Awards ($/sh)(3)
   Grant Date Fair
Value of Stock and
Option Awards ($)(4)

Jay T. Flatley

     1/28/2010             —    225,000    36.30    4,007,025
     1/28/2010       25,000              —          —        907,500

Christian O. Henry

     1/27/2010             —      67,500    37.04    1,226,617
     1/27/2010         7,500              —          —        277,800

Christian G. Cabou

     1/27/2010             —      67,500    37.04    1,226,617
     1/27/2010         7,500              —          —        277,800

Tristan B. Orpin

     1/27/2010             —      67,500    37.04    1,226,617
     1/27/2010         7,500              —          —        277,800

Mostafa Ronaghi

     1/27/2010             —      67,500    37.04    1,226,617
     1/27/2010         7,500              —          —        277,800

 

 

 

(1) Stock awards consist of RSUs. RSUs vest 15% on the first anniversary of the grant date, 20% on the second anniversary of the grant date, 30% on the third anniversary of the grant date, and 35% on the fourth anniversary of the grant date.
(2) All options granted vest in equal monthly installments over four years. Vesting is subject to the individual’s continued service to us through the vesting date.
(3) The exercise price of stock options awarded is the closing market price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market on the date of grant.
(4) This reflects the grant date fair value of awards granted during fiscal 2010. Assumptions used in the calculation of these amounts are included in Note 1 to our audited consolidated financial statements for fiscal 2010, included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on February 28, 2011.

 

25


Outstanding Equity Awards at Fiscal Year-End Table

 

     Option Awards    Stock Awards

Name

   Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Options

(#) Exercisable
   Number of
Securities
Underlying
Unexercised
Option
(#) Unexercisable
  Option Exercise
Price ($)
   Option
Expiration
Date
   Number of
Shares or
Units of
Stock that
Have Not
Vested(1)
   Market Value
of Shares or
Units of
Stock that
Have Not
Vested ($)(2)

Jay T. Flatley

           —            —        —                —    66,750    4,227,945
   375,000            —     4.30    2/25/2015            —            —
   491,666        8,334(3)   10.49    1/30/2016            —            —
   548,333     151,667(3)   20.04    1/25/2017            —            —
   164,062      60,938(4)   33.80    2/1/2018            —            —
   119,791    130,209(4)   27.97    1/29/2019            —            —
     51,562    173,438(4)   36.30    1/28/2020            —            —

Christian O. Henry

           —            —        —            —    22,854    1,447,572
     16,500            —     5.23    6/6/2015            —            —
       8,833        1,334(3)   10.49    1/30/2016            —            —
     84,635      65,000(3)   20.04    1/25/2017            —            —
     65,625      24,375(4)   32.49    1/29/2018            —            —
     44,921      48,829(4)   28.45    1/28/2019            —            —
     15,468      52,032(4)   37.04    1/27/2020            —            —

Christian G. Cabou

           —            —        —            —    20,539    1,300,940
     10,000      25,000(5)   13.70    5/30/2016            —            —
       2,500      32,500(3)   20.04    1/25/2017            —            —
       2,156      22,344(4)   32.49    1/29/2018            —            —
       4,937      39,063(4)   28.45    1/28/2019            —            —
     15,468      52,032(4)   37.04    1/27/2020            —            —

Tristan B. Orpin

           —            —        —            —    20,539    1,300,940
       1,667            —     4.54    1/20/2015            —            —
       1,667          1,667   10.49    1/30/2016            —            —
     92,666      43,334(3)   20.04    1/25/2017            —            —
     60,156      22,344(4)   32.49    1/29/2018            —            —
     35,937      39,063(4)   28.45    1/28/2019            —            —
     15,468      52,032(4)   37.04    1/27/2020            —            —

Mostafa Ronaghi

           —             —        —            —    10,475    663,487
   134,166      95,834(6)   44.38    8/4/2018            —            —
     15,093      16,407(4)   28.45    1/28/2019            —            —
     15,468      52,032(4)   37.04    1/27/2020            —            —

 

 

 

(1) Stock awards consist of RSUs. RSUs vest 15% on the first anniversary of the grant date, 20% on the second anniversary of the grant date, 30% on the third anniversary of the grant date, and 35% on the fourth anniversary of the grant date.
(2) Market value of stock awards was determined by multiplying the number of unvested shares by $63.34, which was the closing market price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market on December 31, 2010, the last trading day of fiscal 2010.
(3) These options vest monthly over a five year period from the date of grant.
(4) These options vest monthly over a four year period from the date of grant.
(5) 20% of these options vest on the first anniversary of the grant, and the remaining options vest monthly over the next 48 months.
(6) 25% of these options vest on the first anniversary of the grant, and the remaining options vest monthly over the next 36 months.

 

26


Option Exercises and Stock Vested Table

 

     Option Awards    Stock Awards

Name

   Number of Shares
Acquired on  Exercise(#)
   Value Realized
on Exercise(1)($)
   Number of Shares
Acquired on Vesting(#)
   Value Realized on
Vesting($)

Jay T. Flatley

   325,000    14,066,610    9,500    351,305

Christian O. Henry

   155,500      4,028,838    3,563    130,117

Christian G. Cabou

   186,500      4,567,371    3,084    112,664

Tristan B. Orpin

   163,001      5,409,142    3,084    112,664

Mostafa Ronaghi

           —                —      525      19,058

 

 

(1) Value realized on exercise of option awards is computed by determining the difference between the closing market price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market on the dates of exercise and the exercise price per share exercised.

Nonqualified Deferred Compensation for Fiscal 2010

 

Name

  Executive
Contributions in
Last Fiscal
Year($)(1)
  Illumina
Contributions in
Last Fiscal Year($)(3)
  Aggregate Earnings
in Last Fiscal  Year

($)(2)
  Aggregate
Withdrawals /
Distributions($)
  Aggregate Balance
at Last Fiscal
Year-End($)

Jay T. Flatley

  250,000           —   36,100   146,511           —

Christian O. Henry

  225,000           —   28,020     59,901   365,779

Christian G. Cabou

          —           —     3,154           —     59,195

Tristan B. Orpin

          —           —   17,480           —   168,328

Mostafa Ronaghi

          —           —   35,624           —   332,876

 

 

(1) Amounts included in the Summary Compensation Table in the “Salary” and “Non-Equity Incentive Plan Compensation” columns.
(2) These amounts are not included in the Summary Compensation Table because plan earnings were not preferential or above market.
(3) The Company made no contributions towards the deferred compensation plan for the participants in fiscal 2010 or prior years.

 

27


EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table presents information about shares of our common stock that may be issued under our equity compensation plans, including compensation plans that were approved by our stockholders as well as compensation plans that were not approved by our stockholders. Information in the table is as of January 2, 2011.

 

Plan Category

  

(a) Number of Securities to Be

Issued Upon Exercise
of Outstanding Options and
            Rights            

    (b) Weighted-Average Exercise
Price per Share of Outstanding
Options and Rights ($)
 

(c) Number of Securities
Remaining Available for
Future Issuance Under
Equity Compensation
Plans (Excluding
Securities Reflected in
Column (a))

 

Equity compensation plans approved by security holders

     13,747,033 (1)    21.11(2)     23,597,489 (3) 

Equity compensation plans not approved by security holders

     1,244,500 (4)    37.53     N/A (5) 
  

 

 

     

 

 

 

Total

     14,991,533      22.83     23,597,489   
  

 

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Represents 10,637,801 shares issuable upon exercise of options and 3,109,232 shares issuable under restricted stock unit awards. Options outstanding include 2,105,153 options with a weighted-average exercise price of $29.72 that were assumed in connection with corporate acquisitions.
(2) RSUs have been excluded for purposes of computing weighted-average exercise price.
(3) Includes 7,535,584 shares available for grant under our 2005 Stock Incentive Plan and 16,061,905 shares available for grant under our 2000 Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
(4) Represents options granted under our New Hire Stock and Incentive Plan.
(5) There is no set number of shares reserved for issuance under the New Hire Stock and Incentive Plan.

 

28


CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

We entered into a license agreement with Tufts University in 1998 in connection with the license of patents filed by Dr. David Walt, one of our directors. Dr. Walt is the Robinson Professor of Chemistry at Tufts University. Under that agreement, we pay royalties to Tufts upon the commercial sale of products based on the licensed technology. Tufts University pays a portion of the royalties received from us to Dr. Walt, the amount of which is controlled solely by Tufts University. The portion of royalties received from us that Tufts University shared with Dr. Walt during fiscal 2010 was approximately $592,000.

In October 2009, we made a $1.95 million investment to acquire shares of Series A Preferred Stock of Helixis, Inc., a developer of advanced nucleic acid analysis tools. Mr. Flatley, our President and Chief Executive Officer, is a director of Helixis, and he also owns shares of stock representing less than one percent of Helixis’ outstanding capital stock on a fully-diluted basis. In April 2010, we acquired all of the outstanding capital stock of Helixis that was not already owned by the Company. The Board of Directors, with Mr. Flatley abstaining, reviewed and approved our investment in, and subsequent acquisition of, Helixis.

All future transactions between us and our officers, directors, principal stockholders, and affiliates will be subject to approval by a majority of the independent and disinterested members of our Board of Directors, and will be on terms determined by such members of the Board of Directors to be no less favorable to us than could be obtained from unaffiliated third parties.

 

29


We have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our directors and executive officers pursuant to which we have agreed to indemnify these persons to the fullest extent permitted by law in connection with certain claims that may arise generally relating to their acting in their capacities as our directors or executive officers.

 

30

Exhibit (e)(6)

ILLUMINA, INC.

D EFERRED C OMPENSATION P LAN


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

A RTICLE I

  

Establishment and Purpose

     1   

A RTICLE II

  

Definitions

     1   

A RTICLE III

  

Eligibility and Participation

     8   

A RTICLE IV

  

Deferrals

     8   

A RTICLE V

  

Company Contributions

     11   

A RTICLE VI

  

Benefits

     12   

A RTICLE VII

  

Modifications to Payment Schedules

     14   

A RTICLE VIII

  

Valuation of Account Balances; Investments

     15   

A RTICLE IX

  

Administration

     16   

A RTICLE X

  

Amendment and Termination

     18   

A RTICLE XI

  

Informal Funding

     19   

A RTICLE XII

  

Claims

     19   

A RTICLE XIII

  

General Provisions

     24   


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

A RTICLE I

Establishment and Purpose

Illumina, Inc. (the “Company”) hereby establishes the Illumina Deferred Compensation Plan (the “Plan”), effective December 1, 2007.

The purpose of the Plan is to attract and retain key employees and Directors by providing each Participant with an opportunity to defer receipt of a portion of their salary, bonus, and other specified compensation. The Plan is not intended to meet the qualification requirements of Code Section 401(a), but is intended to meet the requirements of Code Section 409A, and shall be operated and interpreted consistent with that intent.

The Plan constitutes an unsecured promise by a Participating Employer to pay benefits in the future. Participants in the Plan shall have the status of general unsecured creditors of the Company or the Adopting Employer, as applicable. Each Participating Employer shall be solely responsible for payment of the benefits of its employees and their beneficiaries. The Plan is unfunded for Federal tax purposes and is intended to be an unfunded arrangement for eligible employees who are part of a select group of management or highly compensated employees of the Employer within the meaning of Sections 201(2), 301(a)(3) and 401(a)(1) of ERISA. Any amounts set aside to defray the liabilities assumed by the Company or an Adopting Employer will remain the general assets of the Company or the Adopting Employer and shall remain subject to the claims of the Company’s or the Adopting Employer’s creditors until such amounts are distributed to the Participants.

A RTICLE II

Definitions

 

2.1 Account. Account means a bookkeeping account maintained by the Committee to record the payment obligation of a Participating Employer to a Participant as determined under the terms of the Plan. The Committee may maintain an Account to record the total obligation to a Participant and component Accounts to reflect amounts payable at different times and in different forms. Reference to an Account means any such Account established by the Committee, as the context requires. Accounts are intended to constitute unfunded obligations within the meaning of Sections 201(2), 301(a)(3) and 401(a)(1) of ERISA.

 

2.2 Account Balance. Account Balance means, with respect to any Account, the total payment obligation owed to a Participant from such Account as of the most recent Valuation Date.

 

2.3 Adopting Employer. Adopting Employer means an Affiliate who, with the consent of the Company, has adopted the Plan for the benefit of its eligible employees.

 

2.4 Affiliate. Affiliate means a corporation, trade or business that, together with the Company, is treated as a single employer under Code Section 414(b) or (c).

 

Page 1 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

2.5 Beneficiary. Beneficiary means a natural person, estate, or trust designated by a Participant to receive payments to which a Beneficiary is entitled in accordance with provisions of the Plan. The Participant’s spouse, if living, otherwise the Participant’s estate, shall be the Beneficiary if: (i) the Participant has failed to properly designate a Beneficiary; or (ii) all designated Beneficiaries have predeceased the Participant.

A former spouse shall have no interest under the Plan, as Beneficiary or otherwise, unless the Participant designates such person as a Beneficiary after dissolution of the marriage, except to the extent provided under the terms of a domestic relations order as described in Code Section 414(p)(1)(B).

 

2.6 Business Day . A Business Day is each day on which the New York Stock Exchange is open for business.

 

2.7 Change in Control. Change in Control, with respect to a Participating Employer that is organized as a corporation, occurs on the date on which any of the following events occur: (i) a change in the ownership of the Participating Employer; (ii) a change in the effective control of the Participating Employer; or (iii) a change in the ownership of a substantial portion of the assets of the Participating Employer.

For purposes of this Section, a change in the ownership of the Participating Employer occurs on the date on which any one person, or more than one person acting as a group, acquires ownership of stock of the Participating Employer that, together with stock held by such person or group constitutes more than fifty percent (50%) of the total fair market value or total voting power of the stock of the Participating Employer. A change in the effective control of the Participating Employer occurs on the date on which either: (i) a person, or more than one person acting as a group, acquires ownership of stock of the Participating Employer possessing thirty percent (30%) or more of the total voting power of the stock of the Participating Employer, taking into account all such stock acquired during the 12-month period ending on the date of the most recent acquisition,; or (ii) a majority of the members of the Participating Employer’s Board of Directors is replaced during any 12-month period by directors whose appointment or election is not endorsed by a majority of the members of such Board of Directors prior to the date of the appointment or election, but only if no other corporation is a majority shareholder of the Participating Employer. A change in the ownership of a substantial portion of assets occurs on the date on which any one person, or more than one person acting as a group, other than a person or group of persons that is related to the Participating Employer, acquires assets from the Participating Employer that have a total gross fair market value equal to or more than forty percent (40%) of the total gross fair market value of all of the assets of the Participating Employer immediately prior to such acquisition or acquisitions, taking into account all such assets acquired during the 12-month period ending on the date of the most recent acquisition.

An event constitutes a Change in Control with respect to a Participant only if the Participant performs services for the Participating Employer that has experienced the Change in Control, or the Participant’s relationship to the affected Participating Employer otherwise satisfies the requirements of Treasury Regulation Section 1.409A-3(i)(5)(ii). The determination as to the occurrence of a Change in Control shall be based on objective facts and in accordance with the requirements of Code Section 409A.

 

Page 2 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

2.8 Claimant. Claimant means a Participant or Beneficiary filing a claim under Article XII of this Plan.

 

2.9 Code. Code means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time.

 

2.10 Code Section 409A. Code Section 409A means section 409A of the Code, and regulations and other guidance issued by the Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service thereunder.

 

2.11 Committee. Committee means the committee appointed by the Board of Directors of the Company (or the appropriate committee of such board) to administer the Plan. If no designation is made, the Chief Executive Officer of the Company or his delegate shall have and exercise the powers of the Committee.

 

2.12 Company. Company means Illumina, Inc.

 

2.13 Company Contribution. Company Contribution means a credit by a Participating Employer to a Participant’s Account(s) in accordance with the provisions of Article V of the Plan. Company Contributions are credited at the sole discretion of the Participating Employer and the fact that a Company Contribution is credited in one year shall not obligate the Participating Employer to continue to make such Company Contribution in subsequent years. Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, a reference to Company Contribution shall include Earnings attributable to such contribution.

 

2.14 Company Stock. Company Stock means phantom shares of common stock issued by Company.

 

2.15 Compensation. Compensation means a Participant’s base salary, bonus, commission, Director Fees and other cash or equity-based compensation (if any) approved by the Committee as Compensation that may be deferred under this Plan. Compensation shall not include any compensation that has been previously deferred under this Plan or any other arrangement subject to Code Section 409A.

 

2.16 Compensation Deferral Agreement. Compensation Deferral Agreement means an agreement between a Participant and a Participating Employer that specifies: (i) the amount of each component of Compensation that the Participant has elected to defer to the Plan in accordance with the provisions of Article IV; and (ii) the Payment Schedule applicable to one or more Accounts. The Committee may permit different deferral amounts for each component of Compensation and may establish a minimum or maximum deferral amount for each such component. Unless otherwise specified by the Committee in the Compensation Deferral Agreement, Participants may defer up to eighty percent (80%) of their base salary and up to one hundred percent (100%) of other types of Compensation for a Plan Year. A Compensation Deferral Agreement may also specify the investment allocation described in Section 8.4.

 

Page 3 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

2.17 Death Benefit. Death Benefit means the benefit payable under the Plan to a Participant’s Beneficiary(ies) upon the Participant’s death as provided in Section 6.1 of the Plan.

 

2.18 Deferral. Deferral means a credit to a Participant’s Account(s) that records that portion of the Participant’s Compensation that the Participant has elected to defer to the Plan in accordance with the provisions of Article IV. Unless the context of the Plan clearly indicates otherwise, a reference to Deferrals includes Earnings attributable to such Deferrals.

Deferrals shall be calculated with respect to the gross cash Compensation payable to the Participant prior to any deductions or withholdings, but shall be reduced by the Committee as necessary so that it does not exceed one hundred (100%) of the cash Compensation of the Participant remaining after deduction of all required income and employment taxes, 401(k) and other employee benefit deductions, and other deductions required by law. Changes to payroll withholdings that affect the amount of Compensation being deferred to the Plan shall be allowed only to the extent permissible under Code Section 409A.

 

2.19 Director. Director means a member of the Board of Directors of the Company.

 

2.20 Earnings. Earnings means an adjustment to the value of an Account in accordance with Article VIII.

 

2.21 Effective Date. Effective Date means December 1, 2007.

 

2.22 Eligible Employee. Eligible Employee means a member of a “select group of management or highly compensated employees” of a Participating Employer within the meaning of Sections 201(2), 301(a)(3) and 401(a)(1) of ERISA, as determined by the Committee from time to time in its sole discretion.

 

2.23 Employee. Employee means a common-law employee of an Employer.

 

2.24 Employer. Employer means, with respect to Employees it employs, the Company and each Affiliate.

 

2.25 ERISA. ERISA means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended from time to time.

 

2.26 Fiscal Year Compensation. Fiscal Year Compensation means Compensation earned during one or more consecutive fiscal years of a Participating Employer, all of which is paid after the last day of such fiscal year or years.

 

2.27

Participant. Participant means an Eligible Employee or a Director who has received notification of his or her eligibility to defer Compensation under the Plan under Section

 

Page 4 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

  3.1 and any other person with an Account Balance greater than zero, regardless of whether such individual continues to be an Eligible Employee or a Director. A Participant’s continued participation in the Plan shall be governed by Section 3.2 of the Plan.

 

2.28 Participating Employer. Participating Employer means the Company and each Adopting Employer.

 

2.29 Payment Schedule. Payment Schedule means the date as of which payment of an Account under the Plan will commence and the form in which payment of such Account will be made.

 

2.30 Performance-Based Compensation. Performance-Based Compensation means Compensation where the amount of, or entitlement to, the Compensation is contingent on the satisfaction of pre-established organizational or individual performance criteria relating to a performance period of at least twelve consecutive months. Organizational or individual performance criteria are considered pre-established if established in writing by not later than ninety (90) days after the commencement of the period of service to which the criteria relate, provided that the outcome is substantially uncertain at the time the criteria are established. The determination of whether Compensation qualifies as “Performance-Based Compensation” will be made in accordance with Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-1(e) and subsequent guidance.

 

2.31 Plan. Generally, the term Plan means the “Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan” as documented herein and as may be amended from time to time hereafter. However, to the extent permitted or required under Code Section 409A, the term Plan may in the appropriate context also mean a portion of the Plan that is treated as a single plan under Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-1(c), or the Plan or portion of the Plan and any other nonqualified deferred compensation plan or portion thereof that is treated as a single plan under such section.

 

2.32 Plan Year. Plan Year means January 1 through December 31.

 

2.33 Retirement/Termination Account. Retirement/Termination Account means an Account established by the Committee to record the amounts payable to a Participant upon Separation from Service. Unless the Participant has established a Specified Date Account, all Deferrals and Company Contributions shall be allocated to a Retirement/Termination Account on behalf of the Participant.

 

2.34 Separation from Service. An Employee incurs a Separation from Service upon termination of employment with the Employer. A Director incurs a Separation from Service upon termination of services as a Director. Whether a Separation from Service has occurred shall be determined by the Committee in accordance with Code Section 409A.

Except in the case of an Employee on a bona fide leave of absence as provided below, an Employee is deemed to have incurred a Separation from Service if the Employer and the

 

Page 5 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

Employee reasonably anticipated that the level of services to be performed by the Employee after a date certain would be reduced to twenty percent (20%) or less of the average services rendered by the Employee during the immediately preceding 36-month period (or the total period of employment, if less than 36 months), disregarding periods during which the Employee was on a bona fide leave of absence.

An Employee who is absent from work due to military leave, sick leave, or other bona fide leave of absence shall incur a Separation from Service on the first date immediately following the later of: (i) the six-month anniversary of the commencement of the leave; or (ii) the expiration of the Employee’s right, if any, to reemployment under statute or contract.

If a Participant is both a Director and an Employee, the services provided as a Director shall be disregarded in determining whether there has been a Separation from Service as an Employee, and the services provided as an Employee shall be disregarded in determining whether there has been a Separation from Service as a Director, provided the portion of the Plan in which the Participant participates as a Director is substantially similar to arrangements covering non-Employee Directors.

For purposes of determining whether a Separation from Service has occurred, the Employer means the Employer as defined in Section 2.24 of the Plan, except that for purposes of determining whether another organization is an Affiliate of the Company, common ownership of at least fifty percent (50%) shall be determinative.

The Committee specifically reserves the right to determine whether a sale or other disposition of substantial assets to an unrelated party constitutes a Separation from Service with respect to a Participant providing services to the seller immediately prior to the transaction and providing services to the buyer after the transaction. Such determination shall be made in accordance with the requirements of Code Section 409A.

 

2.35 Specified Date Account. A Specified Date Account means an Account established by the Committee to record the amounts payable at a future date as specified in the Participant’s Compensation Deferral Agreement. Unless otherwise determined by the Committee, a Participant may maintain no more than five Specified Date Accounts. A Specified Date Account may be identified in enrollment materials as an “In-Service Account” or such other name as established by the Committee without affecting the meaning thereof.

 

2.36 Specified Date Benefit. Specified Date Benefit means the benefit payable to a Participant under the Plan in accordance with Section 6.1(c).

 

2.37 Specified Employee. Specified Employee means an Employee who, as of the date of his Separation from Service, is a “key employee” of the Company or any Affiliate, any stock of which is actively traded on an established securities market or otherwise.

An Employee is a key employee if he meets the requirements of Code Section 416(i)(1)(A)(i), (ii), or (iii) (applied in accordance with applicable regulations thereunder and without regard to Code Section 416(i)(5)) at any time during the 12-month period ending on the Specified Employee Identification Date. Such Employee shall be treated as a key employee for the entire 12-month period beginning on the Specified Employee Effective Date.

 

Page 6 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

For purposes of determining whether an Employee is a Specified Employee, the compensation of the Employee shall be determined in accordance with the definition of compensation provided under Treas. Reg. Section 1.415(c)-2(d)(3) (wages within the meaning of Code section 3401(a) for purposes of income tax withholding at the source, plus amounts excludible from gross income under section 125(a), 132(f)(4), 402(e)(3), 402(h)(1)(B), 402(k) or 457(b), without regard to rules that limit the remuneration included in wages based on the nature or location of the employment or the services performed); provided, however, that, with respect to a nonresident alien who is not a Participant in the Plan, compensation shall not include compensation that is not includible in the gross income of the Employee under Code Sections 872, 893, 894, 911, 931 and 933, provided such compensation is not effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States.

Notwithstanding anything in this paragraph to the contrary, (i) if a different definition of compensation has been designated by the Company with respect to another nonqualified deferred compensation plan in which a key employee participates, the definition of compensation shall be the definition provided in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-1(i)(2); and (ii) the Company may through action that is legally binding with respect to all nonqualified deferred compensation plans maintained by the Company, elect to use a different definition of compensation.

In the event of corporate transactions described in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-1(i)6), the identification of Specified Employees shall be determined in accordance with the default rules described therein, unless the Employer elects to utilize the available alternative methodology through designations made within the timeframes specified therein.

 

2.38 Specified Employee Identification Date. Specified Employee Identification Date means December 31, unless the Employer has elected a different date through action that is legally binding with respect to all nonqualified deferred compensation plans maintained by the Employer.

 

2.39 Specified Employee Effective Date. Specified Employee Effective Date means the first day of the fourth month following the Specified Employee Identification Date, or such earlier date as is selected by the Committee.

 

2.40 Substantial Risk of Forfeiture. Substantial Risk of Forfeiture shall have the meaning specified in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-1(d).

 

2.41 Termination Benefit. Termination Benefit means the benefit payable to a Participant under the Plan following the Participant’s Separation from Service prior to Retirement.

 

2.42

Unforeseeable Emergency. An Unforeseeable Emergency means a severe financial hardship to the Participant resulting from an illness or accident of the Participant, the Participant’s spouse, the Participant’s dependent (as defined in Code section 152, without

 

Page 7 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

  regard to section 152(b)(1), (b)(2), and (d)(1)(B)), or a Beneficiary; loss of the Participant’s property due to casualty (including the need to rebuild a home following damage to a home not otherwise covered by insurance, for example, as a result of a natural disaster); or other similar extraordinary and unforeseeable circumstances arising as a result of events beyond the control of the Participant. The types of events which may qualify as an Unforeseeable Emergency may be limited by the Committee.

 

2.43 Valuation Date. Valuation Date shall mean each Business Day.

A RTICLE III

Eligibility and Participation

 

3.1 Eligibility and Participation. An Eligible Employee or a Director becomes a Participant upon the earlier to occur of: (i) a credit of Company Contributions under Article V; or (ii) receipt of notification of eligibility to participate.

 

3.2 Duration. A Participant shall be eligible to defer Compensation and receive allocations of Company Contributions, subject to the terms of the Plan, for as long as such Participant remains an Eligible Employee or a Director. A Participant who is no longer an Eligible Employee or a Director but has not Separated from Service may not file a Compensation Deferral Agreement, but may otherwise exercise all of the rights of a Participant under the Plan with respect to his or her Account(s). On and after a Separation from Service, a Participant shall remain a Participant as long as his or her Account Balance is greater than zero and during such time may continue to make allocation elections as provided in Section 8.4. An individual shall cease being a Participant in the Plan when all benefits under the Plan to which he or she is entitled have been paid.

A RTICLE IV

Deferrals

 

4.1 Deferral Elections, Generally.

 

  (a) A Participant may elect to defer Compensation by submitting a Compensation Deferral Agreement during the enrollment periods established by the Committee and in the manner specified by the Committee, but in any event, in accordance with Section 4.2. A Compensation Deferral Agreement that is not timely filed with respect to a service period or component of Compensation shall be considered void and shall have no effect with respect to such service period or Compensation. The Committee may modify any Compensation Deferral Agreement prior to the date the election becomes irrevocable under the rules of Section 4.2.

 

  (b)

The Participant shall specify on his or her Compensation Deferral Agreement the amount of Deferrals and whether to allocate Deferrals to a Retirement/Termination Account or to a Specified Date Account. If no

 

Page 8 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

  designation is made, Deferrals shall be allocated to the Retirement/Termination Account. A Participant may also specify in his or her Compensation Deferral Agreement the Payment Schedule applicable to his or her Plan Accounts. If the Payment Schedule is not specified in a Compensation Deferral Agreement, the Payment Schedule shall be the Payment Schedule specified in Section 6.2.

 

4.2 Timing Requirements for Compensation Deferral Agreements.

 

  (a) First Year of Eligibility. In the case of the first year in which an Eligible Employee or a Director becomes eligible to participate in the Plan, he has up to thirty (30) days following his initial eligibility to submit a Compensation Deferral Agreement with respect to Compensation to be earned during such year. The Compensation Deferral Agreement described in this paragraph becomes irrevocable upon the end of such 30-day period. The determination of whether an Eligible Employee or a Director may file a Compensation Deferral Agreement under this paragraph shall be determined in accordance with the rules of Code Section 409A, including the provisions of Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-2(a)(7).

A Compensation Deferral Agreement filed under this paragraph applies to Compensation earned on and after the date the Compensation Deferral Agreement becomes irrevocable.

 

  (b) Prior Year Election. Except as otherwise provided in this Section 4.2, Participants may defer Compensation by filing a Compensation Deferral Agreement no later than December 31 of the year prior to the year in which the Compensation to be deferred is earned. A Compensation Deferral Agreement described in this paragraph shall become irrevocable with respect to such Compensation as of December 31 of the year prior to the year in which such Compensation is earned.

 

  (c) Performance-Based Compensation. Participants may file a Compensation Deferral Agreement with respect to Performance-Based Compensation no later than the date that is six months before the end of the performance period, provided that:

 

  (i) the Participant performs services continuously from the later of the beginning of the performance period or the date the criteria are established through the date the Compensation Deferral Agreement is submitted; and

 

  (ii) the Compensation is not readily ascertainable as of the date the Compensation Deferral Agreement is filed.

A Compensation Deferral Agreement becomes irrevocable with respect to Performance-Based Compensation as of the day immediately following the latest date for filing such election. Any election to defer Performance-Based Compensation that is made in accordance with this paragraph and that becomes payable as a result of the Participant’s death or disability (as defined in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-1(e)) or upon a Change in Control (as defined in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-3(i)(5)) prior to the satisfaction of the performance criteria, will be void.

 

Page 9 of 26


Illumina, Inc. Deferred Compensation Plan

 

  (d) Sales Commissions. Sales commissions (as defined in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-2(a)(12)(i)) are considered to be earned in the taxable year of the Participant in which the sale occurs. The Compensation Deferral Agreement must be filed before the last day of the year preceding the year in which the sales commissions are earned and becomes irrevocable after that date.

 

  (e) Fiscal Year Compensation. A Participant may defer Fiscal Year Compensation by filing a Compensation Deferral Agreement prior to the first day of the fiscal year or years in which such Fiscal Year Compensation is earned. The Compensation Deferral Agreement described in this paragraph becomes irrevocable on the first day of the fiscal year or years to which it applies.

 

  (f) Short-Term Deferrals. Compensation that meets the definition of a “short-term deferral” described in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-1(b)(4) may be deferred in accordance with the rules of Article VII, applied as if the date the Substantial Risk of Forfeiture lapses is the date payments were originally scheduled to commence, provided, however, that the provisions of Section 7.3 shall not apply to payments attributable to a Change in Control (as defined in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-3(i)(5)).

 

  (g) Certain Forfeitable Rights. With respect to a legally binding right to a payment in a subsequent year that is subject to a forfeiture condition requiring the Participant’s continued services for a period of at least twelve months from the date the Participant obtains the legally binding right, an election to defer such Compensation may be made on or before the 30th day after the Participant obtains the legally binding right to the Compensation, provided that the election is made at least twelve months in advance of the earliest date at which the forfeiture condition could lapse. The Compensation Deferral Agreement described in this paragraph becomes irrevocable after such 30th day. If the forfeiture condition applicable to the payment lapses before the end of the required service period as a result of the Participant’s death or disability (as defined in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-3(i)(4)) or upon a Change in Control (as defined in Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-3(i)(5)), the Compensation Deferral Agreement will be void unless it would be considered timely under another rule described in this Section.

 

  (h) Company Awards. Participating Employers may unilaterally provide for deferrals of Company awards prior to the date of such awards. Deferrals of Company awards (such as sign-on, retention, or severance pay) may be negotiated with a Participant prior to the date the Participant has a legally binding right to such Compensation.

 

  (i)

“Evergreen” Deferral Elections. The Committee, in its discretion, may provide in the Compensation Deferral Agreement that such Compensation Deferral Agreement will continue in effect for each subsequent year or performance

 

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  period. Such “evergreen” Compensation Deferral Agreements will become effective with respect to an item of Compensation on the date such election becomes irrevocable under this Section 4.2. An evergreen Compensation Deferral Agreement may be terminated or modified prospectively with respect to Compensation for which such election remains revocable under this Section 4.2. A Participant whose Compensation Deferral Agreement is cancelled in accordance with Section 4.6 will be required to file a new Compensation Deferral Agreement under this Article IV in order to recommence Deferrals under the Plan.

 

4.3 Allocation of Deferrals. A Compensation Deferral Agreement may allocate Deferrals to one or more Specified Date Accounts and/or to the Retirement/Termination Account. The Committee may, in its discretion, establish a minimum deferral period for Specified Date Accounts (for example, the third Plan Year following the year Compensation subject to the Compensation Deferral Agreement is earned).

 

4.4 Deductions from Pay. The Committee has the authority to determine the payroll practices under which any component of Compensation subject to a Compensation Deferral Agreement will be deducted from a Participant’s Compensation.

 

4.5 Vesting. Participant Deferrals shall be 100% vested at all times.

 

4.6

Cancellation of Deferrals. The Committee may cancel a Participant’s Deferrals: (i) for the balance of the Plan Year in which an Unforeseeable Emergency occurs; (ii) if the Participant receives a hardship distribution under the Employer’s qualified 401(k) plan, through the end of the Plan Year in which the six-month anniversary of the hardship distribution falls; and (iii) during periods in which the Participant is unable to perform the duties of his or her position or any substantially similar position due to a mental or physical impairment that can be expected to result in death or last for a continuous period of at least six months, provided cancellation occurs by the later of the end of the taxable year of the Participant or the 15 th day of the third month following the date the Participant incurs the disability (as defined in this paragraph (iii)).

A RTICLE V

Company Contributions

 

5.1 Discretionary Company Contributions. The Participating Employer may, from time to time in its sole and absolute discretion, credit Company Contributions to any Participant in any amount determined by the Participating Employer. Such contributions will be credited to a Participant’s Retirement/Termination Account.

 

5.2

Vesting. Company Contributions described in Section 5.1, above, and the Earnings thereon, shall vest in accordance with the vesting schedule(s) established by the Committee at the time that the Company Contribution is made. All Company Contributions shall become 100% vested upon the occurrence of the earliest of: (i) the death of the Participant while actively employed; (ii) the disability of the Participant; (iii) Retirement of the Participant; or (iv) a Change in Control. The Participating Employer

 

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  may, at any time, in its sole discretion, increase a Participant’s vested interest in a Company Contribution. The portion of a Participant’s Accounts that remains unvested upon his or her Separation from Service after the application of the terms of this Section 5.2 shall be forfeited.

A RTICLE VI

Benefits

 

6.1 Benefits, Generally. A Participant shall be entitled to the following benefits under the Plan:

 

  (a)

Termination Benefit. Upon the Participant’s Separation from Service for reasons other than death, he or she shall be entitled to a Termination Benefit. The Termination Benefit shall be equal to the vested portion of the Retirement/Termination Account and: (i) if the Retirement/Termination Account is payable in a lump sum, the unpaid balances of any Specified Date Accounts; or (ii) if the Retirement/Termination Account is payable in installments, the Specified Date Accounts with respect to which payments have not yet commenced. The Termination Benefit shall be based on the value of such Account(s) as of the end of the month in which Separation from Service occurs. Payment of the Termination Benefit will be made or begin the first day of the month following the month in which Separation from Service occurs, provided, however, that with respect to a Participant who is a Specified Employee as of the date such Participant incurs a Separation from Service, payment will be made or begin on the first day of the seventh (7 th ) month following the month in which such Separation from Service occurs. If the Termination Benefit is to be paid in the form of installments, any subsequent installment payments to a Specified Employee will be paid on the anniversary of the date.

 

  (b) Specified Date Benefit. If the Participant has established one or more Specified Date Accounts, he or she shall be entitled to a Specified Date Benefit with respect to each such Specified Date Account. The Specified Date Benefit shall be equal to the vested portion of the Specified Date Account, based on the value of that Account as of the end of the month designated by the Participant at the time the Account was established. Payment of the Specified Date Benefit will be made or begin the first day of the month following the designated month.

 

  (c) Death Benefit. In the event of the Participant’s death prior to Separation from Service, his or her designated Beneficiary(ies) shall be entitled to a Death Benefit. The Death Benefit shall be equal to the unpaid balances in the Participant’s Retirement/Termination and Specified Date Accounts. The Death Benefit shall be based on the value of the Accounts as of the end of the month in which death occurred, with payment made in the first business day of the following month.

If the Participant dies after Separation from Service, his or her Beneficiary will receive the Participant’s remaining payments according to the Termination Benefit Payment Schedule.

 

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  (d) Unforeseeable Emergency Payments. A Participant who experiences an Unforeseeable Emergency may submit a written request to the Committee to receive payment of all or any portion of his or her vested Accounts. Whether a Participant or Beneficiary is faced with an Unforeseeable Emergency permitting an emergency payment shall be determined by the Committee based on the relevant facts and circumstances of each case, but, in any case, a distribution on account of Unforeseeable Emergency may not be made to the extent that such emergency is or may be reimbursed through insurance or otherwise, by liquidation of the Participant’s assets, to the extent the liquidation of such assets would not cause severe financial hardship, or by cessation of Deferrals under this Plan. If an emergency payment is approved by the Committee, the amount of the payment shall not exceed the amount reasonably necessary to satisfy the need, taking into account the additional compensation that is available to the Participant as the result of cancellation of deferrals to the Plan, including amounts necessary to pay any taxes or penalties that the Participant reasonably anticipates will result from the payment. The amount of the emergency payment shall be subtracted first from the vested portion of the Participant’s Retirement/Termination Account until depleted and then from the vested Specified Date Accounts, beginning with the Specified Date Account with the latest payment commencement date. Emergency payments shall be paid in a single lump sum within the ninety (90) day period following the date the payment is approved by the Committee.

 

6.2 Form of Payment.

 

  (a) Termination Benefit. A Participant who is entitled to receive a Termination Benefit shall receive payment of such benefit in a single lump sum, unless the Participant elects on his or her initial Compensation Deferral Agreement to have such benefit paid in one of the following alternative forms of payment: (i) substantially equal annual installments over a period of two (2) to fifteen (15) years, as elected by the Participant; or (ii) a lump sum payment of a percentage of the balance in the Retirement/Termination Account, with the balance paid in substantially equal annual installments over a period of two (2) to fifteen (15) years, as elected by the Participant.

 

  (b) Specified Date Benefit. The Specified Date Benefit shall be paid in a single lump sum, unless the Participant elects on the Compensation Deferral Agreement with which the account was established to have the Specified Date Account paid in substantially equal annual installments over a period of two (2) to five (5) years, as elected by the Participant.

Notwithstanding any election of a form of payment by the Participant, upon a Participant’s entitlement to a Termination Benefit or Death Benefit, the balance of a Specified Date Account with respect to which payments have not commenced shall be paid in accordance with the form of payment applicable to the Termination or Death Benefit, as applicable. If such benefit is payable in a single lump sum, the unpaid balance of all Specified Date Accounts (including those in pay status) will be paid in a lump sum.

 

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  (c) Death Benefit. A designated Beneficiary who is entitled to receive a Death Benefit shall receive payment of such benefit in a single lump sum.

 

  (d) Change in Control. A Participant will receive his or her Retirement or Termination Benefit in a single lump sum payment equal to the unpaid balance of all of his or her Accounts if Separation from Service occurs within twenty-four (24) months following a Change in Control. A Participant who is receiving installment payments at the time of a Change in Control will receive the unpaid balance of his or her Accounts in a single lump sum within ninety (90) days after such Change in Control.

 

  (e) Small Account Balances. Notwithstanding any Participant election or other provisions of the Plan, a Participant’s Accounts will be paid in a single lump sum if, upon the commencement of his or her Termination Benefit, the combined value of his or her Accounts is not greater than $25,000.

 

  (f) Rules Applicable to Installment Payments. If a Payment Schedule specifies installment payments, annual payments will be made beginning as of the payment commencement date for such installments and shall continue on each anniversary thereof until the number of installment payments specified in the Payment Schedule has been paid. The amount of each installment payment shall be determined by dividing (a) by (b), where (a) equals the Account Balance as of the Valuation Date and (b) equals the remaining number of installment payments.

For purposes of Article VII, installment payments will be treated as a single form of payment. If a lump sum equal to less than 100% of the Retirement/Termination Account is paid, the payment commencement date for the installment form of payment will be the first anniversary of the payment of the lump sum.

 

6.3 Acceleration of or Delay in Payments. The Committee, in its sole and absolute discretion, may elect to accelerate the time or form of payment of a benefit owed to the Participant hereunder, provided such acceleration is permitted under Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-3(j)(4). The Committee may also, in its sole and absolute discretion, delay the time for payment of a benefit owed to the Participant hereunder, to the extent permitted under Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-2(b)(7). If the Plan receives a domestic relations order (within the meaning of Code Section 414(p)(1)(B)) directing that all or a portion of a Participant’s Accounts be paid to an “alternate payee,” any amounts to be paid to the alternate payee(s) shall be paid in a single lump sum.

A RTICLE VII

Modifications to Payment Schedules

 

7.1 Participant’s Right to Modify. A Participant may modify any or all of the alternative Payment Schedules with respect to an Account, consistent with the permissible Payment Schedules available under the Plan, provided such modification complies with the requirements of this Article VII.

 

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7.2 Time of Election. The date on which a modification election is submitted to the Committee must be at least twelve (12) months prior to the date on which payment is scheduled to commence under the Payment Schedule in effect prior to the modification.

 

7.3 Date of Payment under Modified Payment Schedule. Except with respect to modifications that relate to the payment of a Death Benefit, the date payments are to commence under the modified Payment Schedule must be no earlier than five (5) years after the date payment would have commenced under the original Payment Schedule. Under no circumstances may a modification election result in an acceleration of payments in violation of Code Section 409A.

 

7.4 Effective Date. A modification election submitted in accordance with this Article VII is irrevocable upon receipt by the Committee and becomes effective twelve (12) months after such date.

 

7.5 Effect on Accounts. An election to modify a Payment Schedule is specific to the Account or payment event to which it applies, and shall not be construed to affect the Payment Schedules of any other Accounts.

A RTICLE VIII

Valuation of Account Balances; Investments

 

8.1 Valuation. Deferrals shall be credited to appropriate Accounts on the date such Compensation would have been paid to the Participant absent the Compensation Deferral Agreement. Company Contributions shall be credited to the Retirement/Termination Account at the times determined by the Committee. Valuation of Accounts shall be performed under procedures approved by the Committee.

 

8.2 Earnings Credit. Each Account will be credited with Earnings on each Business Day, based upon the Participant’s investment allocation among a menu of investment options selected in advance by the Committee, in accordance with the provisions of this Article VIII (“investment allocation”).

 

8.3 Investment Options. Investment options will be determined by the Committee. The Committee, in its sole discretion, shall be permitted to add or remove investment options from the Plan menu from time to time, provided that any such additions or removals of investment options shall not be effective with respect to any period prior to the effective date of such change.

 

8.4 Investment Allocations. A Participant’s investment allocation constitutes a deemed, not actual, investment among the investment options comprising the investment menu. At no time shall a Participant have any real or beneficial ownership in any investment option included in the investment menu, nor shall the Participating Employer or any trustee acting on its behalf have any obligation to purchase actual securities as a result of a Participant’s investment allocation. A Participant’s investment allocation shall be used solely for purposes of adjusting the value of a Participant’s Account Balances.

 

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A Participant shall specify an investment allocation for each of his Accounts in accordance with procedures established by the Committee. Allocation among the investment options must be designated in increments of one percent (1%). The Participant’s investment allocation will become effective on the same Business Day or, in the case of investment allocations received after a time specified by the Committee, the next Business Day.

A Participant may change an investment allocation on any Business Day, both with respect to future credits to the Plan and with respect to existing Account Balances, in accordance with procedures adopted by the Committee. Changes shall become effective on the same Business Day or, in the case of investment allocations received after a time specified by the Committee, the next Business Day, and shall be applied prospectively.

 

8.5 Unallocated Deferrals and Accounts. If the Participant fails to make an investment allocation with respect to an Account, such Account shall be invested in an investment option, the primary objective of which is the preservation of capital, as determined by the Committee.

 

8.6 Company Stock. The Committee may include Company Stock as one of the investment options described in Section 8.3. The Committee may, in its sole discretion, limit the investment allocation of Company Contributions to Company Stock. The Committee may also require Deferrals consisting of equity-based Compensation to be allocated to Company Stock.

 

8.7 Diversification. A Participant may not re-allocate an investment in Company Stock into another investment option. The portion of an Account that is invested in Company Stock will be paid under Article VI in the form of whole shares of Company Stock.

 

8.8 Effect on Installment Payments. If an Account is to be paid in installments, the Committee will determine the portion of each payment that will be paid in the form of Company Stock.

 

8.9 Dividend Equivalents. Dividend equivalents with respect to Company Stock will be credited to the applicable Accounts in the form of additional shares or units of Company Stock.

A RTICLE IX

Administration

 

9.1 Plan Administration. This Plan shall be administered by the Committee which shall have discretionary authority to make, amend, interpret and enforce all appropriate rules and regulations for the administration of this Plan and to utilize its discretion to decide or resolve any and all questions, including but not limited to eligibility for benefits and interpretations of this Plan and its terms, as may arise in connection with the Plan. Claims for benefits shall be filed with the Committee and resolved in accordance with the claims procedures in Article XII.

 

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9.2 Administration Upon Change in Control. Upon a Change in Control, the Committee, as constituted immediately prior to such Change in Control, shall continue to act as the Committee. The individual who was the Chief Executive Officer of the Company (or if such person is unable or unwilling to act, the next highest ranking officer) prior to the Change in Control shall have the authority (but shall not be obligated) to appoint an independent third party to act as the Committee.

Upon such Change in Control, the Company may not remove the Committee, unless 2/3rds of the members of the Board of Directors of the Company and a majority of Participants and Beneficiaries with Account Balances consent to the removal and replacement Committee. Notwithstanding the foregoing, neither the Committee nor the officer described above shall have authority to direct investment of trust assets under any rabbi trust described in Section 11.2.

The Participating Employer shall, with respect to the Committee identified under this Section: (i) pay all reasonable expenses and fees of the Committee; (ii) indemnify the Committee (including individuals serving as Committee) against any costs, expenses and liabilities including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and expenses arising in connection with the performance of the Committee hereunder, except with respect to matters resulting from the Committee’s gross negligence or willful misconduct; and (iii) supply full and timely information to the Committee on all matters related to the Plan, any rabbi trust, Participants, Beneficiaries and Accounts as the Committee may reasonably require.

 

9.3 Withholding. The Participating Employer shall have the right to withhold from any payment due under the Plan (or with respect to any amounts credited to the Plan) any taxes required by law to be withheld in respect of such payment (or credit). Withholdings with respect to amounts credited to the Plan shall be deducted from Compensation that has not been deferred to the Plan.

 

9.4 Indemnification. The Participating Employers shall indemnify and hold harmless each employee, officer, director, agent or organization, to whom or to which are delegated duties, responsibilities, and authority under the Plan or otherwise with respect to administration of the Plan, including, without limitation, the Committee and its agents, against all claims, liabilities, fines and penalties, and all expenses reasonably incurred by or imposed upon him or it (including but not limited to reasonable attorney fees) which arise as a result of his or its actions or failure to act in connection with the operation and administration of the Plan to the extent lawfully allowable and to the extent that such claim, liability, fine, penalty, or expense is not paid for by liability insurance purchased or paid for by the Participating Employer. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Participating Employer shall not indemnify any person or organization if his or its actions or failure to act are due to gross negligence or willful misconduct or for any such amount incurred through any settlement or compromise of any action unless the Participating Employer consents in writing to such settlement or compromise.

 

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9.5 Delegation of Authority. In the administration of this Plan, the Committee may, from time to time, employ agents and delegate to them such administrative duties as it sees fit, and may from time to time consult with legal counsel who shall be legal counsel to the Company.

 

9.6 Binding Decisions or Actions. The decision or action of the Committee in respect of any question arising out of or in connection with the administration, interpretation and application of the Plan and the rules and regulations thereunder shall be final and conclusive and binding upon all persons having any interest in the Plan.

A RTICLE X

Amendment and Termination

 

10.1 Amendment and Termination. The Company may at any time and from time to time amend the Plan or may terminate the Plan as provided in this Article X. Each Participating Employer may also terminate its participation in the Plan.

 

10.2 Amendments. The Company, by action taken by its Board of Directors, may amend the Plan at any time and for any reason, provided that any such amendment shall not reduce the vested Account Balances of any Participant accrued as of the date of any such amendment or restatement (as if the Participant had incurred a voluntary Separation from Service on such date) or reduce any rights of a Participant under the Plan or other Plan features with respect to Deferrals made prior to the date of any such amendment or restatement without the consent of the Participant. The Board of Directors of the Company may delegate to the Committee the authority to amend the Plan without the consent of the Board of Directors for the purpose of: (i) conforming the Plan to the requirements of law; (ii) facilitating the administration of the Plan; (iii) clarifying provisions based on the Committee’s interpretation of the document; and (iv) making such other amendments as the Board of Directors may authorize.

 

10.3 Termination. The Company, by action taken by its Board of Directors, may terminate the Plan and pay Participants and Beneficiaries their Account Balances in a single lump sum at any time, to the extent and in accordance with Treas. Reg. Section 1.409A-3(j)(4)(ix). If a Participating Employer terminates its participation in the Plan, the benefits of affected Employees shall be paid at the time provided in Article VI.

 

10.4 Accounts Taxable Under Code Section 409A. The Plan is intended to constitute a plan of deferred compensation that meets the requirements for deferral of income taxation under Code Section 409A. The Committee, pursuant to its authority to interpret the Plan, may sever from the Plan or any Compensation Deferral Agreement any provision or exercise of a right that otherwise would result in a violation of Code Section 409A.

 

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A RTICLE XI

Informal Funding

 

11.1 General Assets. Obligations established under the terms of the Plan may be satisfied from the general funds of the Participating Employers, or a trust described in this Article XI. No Participant, spouse or Beneficiary shall have any right, title or interest whatever in assets of the Participating Employers. Nothing contained in this Plan, and no action taken pursuant to its provisions, shall create or be construed to create a trust of any kind, or a fiduciary relationship, between the Participating Employers and any Employee, spouse, or Beneficiary. To the extent that any person acquires a right to receive payments hereunder, such rights are no greater than the right of an unsecured general creditor of the Participating Employer.

 

11.2 Rabbi Trust. A Participating Employer may, in its sole discretion, establish a grantor trust, commonly known as a rabbi trust, as a vehicle for accumulating assets to pay benefits under the Plan. Payments under the Plan may be paid from the general assets of the Participating Employer or from the assets of any such rabbi trust. Payment from any such source shall reduce the obligation owed to the Participant or Beneficiary under the Plan.

If a rabbi trust is in existence upon the occurrence of a “change in control”, as defined in such trust, the Participating Employer shall, upon such change in control, and on each anniversary of the change in control, contribute in cash or liquid securities such amounts as are necessary so that the value of assets after making the contributions exceed the total value of all Account Balances by one hundred ten percent (110%).

A RTICLE XII

Claims

 

12.1 Filing a Claim. Any controversy or claim arising out of or relating to the Plan shall be filed in writing with the Committee which shall make all determinations concerning such claim. Any claim filed with the Committee and any decision by the Committee denying such claim shall be in writing and shall be delivered to the Participant or Beneficiary filing the claim (the “Claimant”).

 

  (a) In General. Notice of a denial of benefits will be provided within ninety (90) days of the Committee’s receipt of the Claimant’s claim for benefits. If the Committee determines that it needs additional time to review the claim, the Committee will provide the Claimant with a notice of the extension before the end of the initial ninety (90) day period. The extension will not be more than ninety (90) days from the end of the initial ninety (90) day period and the notice of extension will explain the special circumstances that require the extension and the date by which the Committee expects to make a decision.

 

  (b)

Contents of Notice. If a claim for benefits is completely or partially denied, notice of such denial shall be in writing and shall set forth the reasons for denial in plain

 

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  language. The notice shall: (i) cite the pertinent provisions of the Plan document; and (ii) explain, where appropriate, how the Claimant can perfect the claim, including a description of any additional material or information necessary to complete the claim and why such material or information is necessary. The claim denial also shall include an explanation of the claims review procedures and the time limits applicable to such procedures, including a statement of the Claimant’s right to bring a civil action under Section 502(a) of ERISA following an adverse decision on review.

 

12.2 Appeal of Denied Claims. A Claimant whose claim has been completely or partially denied shall be entitled to appeal the claim denial by filing a written appeal with a committee designated to hear such appeals (the “Appeals Committee”). A Claimant who timely requests a review of the denied claim (or his or her authorized representative) may review, upon request and free of charge, copies of all documents, records and other information relevant to the denial and may submit written comments, documents, records and other information relevant to the claim to the Appeals Committee. All written comments, documents, records, and other information shall be considered “relevant” if the information: (i) was relied upon in making a benefits determination; (ii) was submitted, considered or generated in the course of making a benefits decision regardless of whether it was relied upon to make the decision; or (iii) demonstrates compliance with administrative processes and safeguards established for making benefit decisions. The Appeals Committee may, in its sole discretion and if it deems appropriate or necessary, decide to hold a hearing with respect to the claim appeal.

 

  (a) In General. Appeal of a denied benefits claim must be filed in writing with the Appeals Committee no later than sixty (60) days after receipt of the written notification of such claim denial. The Appeals Committee shall make its decision regarding the merits of the denied claim within sixty (60) days following receipt of the appeal (or within one hundred and twenty (120) days after such receipt, in a case where there are special circumstances requiring extension of time for reviewing the appealed claim). If an extension of time for reviewing the appeal is required because of special circumstances, written notice of the extension shall be furnished to the Claimant prior to the commencement of the extension. The notice will indicate the special circumstances requiring the extension of time and the date by which the Appeals Committee expects to render the determination on review. The review will take into account comments, documents, records and other information submitted by the Claimant relating to the claim without regard to whether such information was submitted or considered in the initial benefit determination.

 

  (b) Contents of Notice. If a benefits claim is completely or partially denied on review, notice of such denial shall be in writing and shall set forth the reasons for denial in plain language.

The decision on review shall set forth: (i) the specific reason or reasons for the denial; (ii) specific references to the pertinent Plan provisions on which the denial is based; (iii) a statement that the Claimant is entitled to receive, upon request and

 

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free of charge, reasonable access to and copies of all documents, records, or other information relevant (as defined above) to the Claimant’s claim; and (iv) a statement describing any voluntary appeal procedures offered by the plan and a statement of the Claimant’s right to bring an action under Section 502(a) of ERISA.

 

12.3 Claims Appeals Upon Change in Control. Upon a Change in Control, the Appeals Committee, as constituted immediately prior to such Change in Control, shall continue to act as the Appeals Committee. Upon such Change in Control, the Company may not remove any member of the Appeals Committee, but may replace resigning members if 2/3rds of the members of the Board of Directors of the Company and a majority of Participants and Beneficiaries with Account Balances consent to the replacement.

The Appeals Committee shall have the exclusive authority at the appeals stage to interpret the terms of the Plan and resolve appeals under the Claims Procedure.

Each Participating Employer shall, with respect to the Committee identified under this Section, (i) pay its proportionate share of all reasonable expenses and fees of the Appeals Committee, (ii) indemnify the Appeals Committee (including individual committee members) against any costs, expenses and liabilities including, without limitation, attorneys’ fees and expenses arising in connection with the performance of the Appeals Committee hereunder, except with respect to matters resulting from the Appeals Committee’s gross negligence or willful misconduct and (iii) supply full and timely information to the Appeals Committee on all matters related to the Plan, any rabbi trust, Participants, Beneficiaries and Accounts as the Appeals Committee may reasonably require.

 

12.4 Legal Action. A Claimant may not bring any legal action, including commencement of any arbitration, relating to a claim for benefits under the Plan unless and until the Claimant has followed the claims procedures under the Plan and exhausted his or her administrative remedies under such claims procedures.

If a Participant or Beneficiary prevails in a legal proceeding brought under the Plan to enforce the rights of such Participant or any other similarly situated Participant or Beneficiary, in whole or in part, the Participating Employer shall reimburse such Participant or Beneficiary for all legal costs, expenses, reasonable attorneys’ fees and such other liabilities incurred as a result of such proceedings. If the legal proceeding is brought in connection with a Change in Control, or a “change in control” as defined in a rabbi trust described in Section 11.2, the Participant or Beneficiary may file a claim directly with the trustee for reimbursement of such costs, expenses and fees. For purposes of the preceding sentence, the amount of the claim shall be treated as if it were an addition to the Participant’s or Beneficiary’s Account Balance and will be included in determining the Participating Employer’s trust funding obligation under Section 11.2.

 

12.5 Discretion of Appeals Committee. All interpretations, determinations and decisions of the Appeals Committee with respect to any claim shall be made in its sole discretion, and shall be final and conclusive.

 

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12.6 Arbitration.

 

  (a) Prior to Change in Control. If, prior to a Change in Control, any claim or controversy between a Participating Employer and a Participant or Beneficiary is not resolved through the claims procedure set forth in Article XII, such claim shall be submitted to and resolved exclusively by expedited binding arbitration by a single arbitrator. Arbitration shall be conducted in accordance with the following procedures:

The complaining party shall promptly send written notice to the other party identifying the matter in dispute and the proposed remedy. Following the giving of such notice, the parties shall meet and attempt in good faith to resolve the matter. In the event the parties are unable to resolve the matter within twenty one (21) days, the parties shall meet and attempt in good faith to select a single arbitrator acceptable to both parties. If a single arbitrator is not selected by mutual consent within ten (10) Business Days following the giving of the written notice of dispute, an arbitrator shall be selected from a list of nine persons each of whom shall be an attorney who is either engaged in the active practice of law or recognized arbitrator and who, in either event, is experienced in serving as an arbitrator in disputes between employers and employees, which list shall be provided by the main office of either JAMS, the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”) or the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service. If, within three Business Days of the parties’ receipt of such list, the parties are unable to agree on an arbitrator from the list, then the parties shall each strike names alternatively from the list, with the first to strike being determined by the flip of a coin. After each party has had four strikes, the remaining name on the list shall be the arbitrator. If such person is unable to serve for any reason, the parties shall repeat this process until an arbitrator is selected.

Unless the parties agree otherwise, within sixty (60) days of the selection of the arbitrator, a hearing shall be conducted before such arbitrator at a time and a place agreed upon by the parties. In the event the parties are unable to agree upon the time or place of the arbitration, the time and place shall be designated by the arbitrator after consultation with the parties. Within thirty (30) days of the conclusion of the arbitration hearing, the arbitrator shall issue an award, accompanied by a written decision explaining the basis for the arbitrator’s award.

In any arbitration hereunder, the Participating Employer shall pay all administrative fees of the arbitration and all fees of the arbitrator, except that the Participant or Beneficiary may, if he/she/it wishes, pay up to one-half of those amounts. Each party shall pay its own attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses, unless the arbitrator orders otherwise. The prevailing party in such arbitration, as determined by the arbitrator, and in any enforcement or other court proceedings, shall be entitled, to the extent permitted by law, to reimbursement from the other party for all of the prevailing party’s costs (including but not limited to the arbitrator’s compensation), expenses, and attorneys’ fees. The arbitrator shall have no authority to add to or to modify this Plan, shall apply all applicable law,

 

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and shall have no lesser and no greater remedial authority than would a court of law resolving the same claim or controversy. The arbitrator shall have no authority to add to or to modify this Plan, shall apply all applicable law, and shall have no lesser and no greater remedial authority than would a court of law resolving the same claim or controversy. The arbitrator shall, upon an appropriate motion, dismiss any claim without an evidentiary hearing if the party bringing the motion establishes that it would be entitled to summary judgment if the matter had been pursued in court litigation.

The parties shall be entitled to discovery as follows: Each party may take no more than three depositions. The Participating Employer may depose the Participant or Beneficiary plus two other witnesses, and the Participant or Beneficiary may depose the Participating Employer, pursuant to Rule 30(b)(6) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, plus two other witnesses. Each party may make such reasonable document discovery requests as are allowed in the discretion of the arbitrator.

The decision of the arbitrator shall be final, binding, and non-appealable, and may be enforced as a final judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

This arbitration provision of the Plan shall extend to claims against any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate of each party, and, when acting within such capacity, any officer, director, shareholder, Participant, Beneficiary, or agent of any party, or of any of the above, and shall apply as well to claims arising out of state and federal statutes and local ordinances as well as to claims arising under the common law or under this Plan.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, and unless otherwise agreed between the parties, either party may apply to a court for provisional relief, including a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction, on the ground that the arbitration award to which the applicant may be entitled may be rendered ineffectual without provisional relief.

Any arbitration hereunder shall be conducted in accordance with the Federal Arbitration Act: provided, however, that, in the event of any inconsistency between the rules and procedures of the Act and the terms of this Plan, the terms of this Plan shall prevail.

If any of the provisions of this Section 12.6(a) are determined to be unlawful or otherwise unenforceable, in the whole part, such determination shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this section and this section shall be reformed to the extent necessary to carry out its provisions to the greatest extent possible and to insure that the resolution of all conflicts between the parties, including those arising out of statutory claims, shall be resolved by neutral, binding arbitration. If a court should find that the provisions of this Section 12.6(a) are not absolutely binding, then the parties intend any arbitration decision and award to be fully admissible in evidence in any subsequent action, given great weight by any finder of fact and treated as determinative to the maximum extent permitted by law.

 

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The parties do not agree to arbitrate any putative class action or any other representative action. The parties agree to arbitrate only the claims(s) of a single Participant or Beneficiary.

 

  (b) Upon Change in Control. If, upon the occurrence of a Change in Control, any dispute, controversy or claim arises between a Participant or Beneficiary and the Participating Employer out of or relating to or concerning the provisions of the Plan, such dispute, controversy or claim shall be finally settled by a court of competent jurisdiction which, notwithstanding any other provision of the Plan, shall apply a de novo standard of review to any determination made by the Company or its Board of Directors, a Participating Employer, the Committee, or the Appeals Committee.

A RTICLE XIII

General Provisions

 

13.1 Anti-assignment Rule. No interest of any Participant, spouse or Beneficiary under this Plan and no benefit payable hereunder shall be assigned as security for a loan, and any such purported assignment shall be null, void and of no effect, nor shall any such interest or any such benefit be subject in any manner, either voluntarily or involuntarily, to anticipation, sale, transfer, assignment or encumbrance by or through any Participant, spouse or Beneficiary. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, however, the Committee has the discretion to make payments to an alternate payee in accordance with the terms of a domestic relations order (as defined in Code Section 414(p)(1)(B)).

 

13.2 No Legal or Equitable Rights or Interest. No Participant or other person shall have any legal or equitable rights or interest in this Plan that are not expressly granted in this Plan. Participation in this Plan does not give any person any right to be retained in the service of the Participating Employer. The right and power of a Participating Employer to dismiss or discharge an Employee is expressly reserved. The Participating Employers make no representations or warranties as to the tax consequences to a Participant or a Participant’s beneficiaries resulting from a deferral of income pursuant to the Plan.

 

13.3 No Employment Contract. Nothing contained herein shall be construed to constitute a contract of employment between an Employee and a Participating Employer.

 

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13.4 Notice. Any notice or filing required or permitted to be delivered to the Committee under this Plan shall be delivered in writing, in person, or through such electronic means as is established by the Committee. Notice shall be deemed given as of the date of delivery or, if delivery is made by mail, as of the date shown on the postmark on the receipt for registration or certification. Written transmission shall be sent by certified mail to:

ILLUMINA, INC.

ATTN: DIRECTOR OF HUMAN RESOURCES

9885 TOWNE CENTRE DRIVE

SAN DIEGO, CA 92121

Any notice or filing required or permitted to be given to a Participant under this Plan shall be sufficient if in writing or hand-delivered, or sent by mail to the last known address of the Participant.

 

13.5 Headings. The headings of Sections are included solely for convenience of reference, and if there is any conflict between such headings and the text of this Plan, the text shall control.

 

13.6 Invalid or Unenforceable Provisions. If any provision of this Plan shall be held invalid or unenforceable, such invalidity or unenforceability shall not affect any other provisions hereof and the Committee may elect in its sole discretion to construe such invalid or unenforceable provisions in a manner that conforms to applicable law or as if such provisions, to the extent invalid or unenforceable, had not been included.

 

13.7 Lost Participants or Beneficiaries. Any Participant or Beneficiary who is entitled to a benefit from the Plan has the duty to keep the Committee advised of his or her current mailing address. If benefit payments are returned to the Plan or are not presented for payment after a reasonable amount of time, the Committee shall presume that the payee is missing. The Committee, after making such efforts as in its discretion it deems reasonable and appropriate to locate the payee, shall stop payment on any uncashed checks and may discontinue making future payments until contact with the payee is restored.

 

13.8 Facility of Payment to a Minor. If a distribution is to be made to a minor, or to a person who is otherwise incompetent, then the Committee may, in its discretion, make such distribution (i) to the legal guardian, or if none, to a parent of a minor payee with whom the payee maintains his or her residence, or (ii) to the conservator or committee or, if none, to the person having custody of an incompetent payee. Any such distribution shall fully discharge the Committee, the Company, and the Plan from further liability on account thereof.

 

13.9 Governing Law. To the extent not preempted by ERISA, the laws of the State of California shall govern the construction and administration of the Plan.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned executed this Plan as of the      day of                     , 2008, to be effective as of the Effective Date.

 

Illumina, Inc.  
By:   

 

  (Print Name)  
Its:   

 

  (Title)  

 

  (Signature)

 

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