Roche Holding AG (ROG), a Basel, Switzerland-based drugmaker, may drop its $6.6 billion bid for Illumina Inc. (ILMN), SonntagsZeitung reported, citing an unidentified person close to Roche’s board. Illumina, a San Diego, California-based diagnostics company, can’t rely on Roche’s continuing participation in negotiations, the person said, adding that for Roche, Illumina is a “nice-to-have,” not a “must-have,” according to the Swiss newspaper. Roche won’t raise its bid for Illumina a second time, the same person told SonntagsZeitung.
