Illumina nearly settled with Icahn before proxy fight broke out

Details: Illumina, a $36 billion company that specializes in DNA sequencing and array-based technologies, said in its filing that Icahn was adamant about his nominees.

• Icahn said he “would not even support Jesus Christ” as an independent candidate over one of his nominees because “my guys answer to me” the filing says.
• Icahn did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Zoom in: Icahn is nominating three directors from his firm to serve on the board.

• Illumina's filing on Thursday urged shareholders to elect its own nine nominees to the board.

Of note: Icahn, who owns 1.4% of Illumina, is pushing the company to unwind its acquisition of cancer detection test maker Grail. Illumina's market value has plunged by more than half since closing the Grail deal.

• EU authorities continue to object to the Grail takeover, forcing Illumina to run the business as a subsidiary while the company and the European regulators seek a final outcome.