Antitrust Issues Can Draw the Attention of Shareholder Activists The Illumina/GRAIL transaction has caught the attention of more than just the antitrust regulators and courts. Carl Icahn has launched a proxy contest at Illumina. Icahn has published a series of open letters to Illumina shareholders over the course of March and April 2023, criticizing Illumina for pursuing the GRAIL acquisition despite regulatory opposition. As of the time of this publication, Icahn is calling for Illumina's CEO to be ousted, for three Icahn-nominated candidates to be added to the Illumina board of directors, and for Illumina and GRAIL to be "separated immediately," stating that the effort to overturn both the FTC and European Commission actions would be "an almost impossible battle" to win.