A U.S. judge reportedly ruled in favor of an FTC petition to drop its case against the proposed merger between Illumina (NSDQ:ILMN) and Grail.
The Financial Times reported that the ruling allows Brussels to investigate the merger while the deal remains blocked. In April the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Competition announced today that it will review Illumina’s proposed $8 billion acquisition of Grail.
Illumina and Grail agreed this spring to postpone the planned purchase until after Sept. 20 while the FTC challenged the deal. The company in March stated that it disagreed with and will oppose the FTC’s challenge to the acquisition of Grail, a cancer detection startup that spun out from the company four years ago.
According to the FT report, Illumina CEO Francis deSouza claims that the U.S. regulators are employing “time-wasting” maneuvers and that the companies want the FTC to operate with a sense of urgency to get the case to trial.
Additionally, FT quoted deSouza as saying Illumina is cooperating while pursuing the deal in Europe as well.
The FTC did not immediately respond to request for comment and/or further information. This story may be updated.