March 25 (Reuters) - Activist investor Keith Meister will join the board of gene-sequencing maker Illumina, and current board member Scott Gottlieb will become chairman, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The changes are expected to be announced on Tuesday and will take effect on Friday, according to the report,.
Illumina and Meister's hedge fund Corvex Management did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Corvex, which first disclosed a stake in Illumina in 2023, currently owns about 1.7 million shares, or 1.07% of the company, according to a regulatory filing.
The reported board changes come at a time when Illumina has been caught in the middle of a tariff war between the U.S. and China. Earlier this month, China announced a ban on imports of genetic sequencers from Illumina in response to U.S. President Donald Trump's additional 10% tariff on Chinese goods.
This has forced the company to cut its annual profit forecast and implement a cost-saving plan. China accounts for 7% of Illumina's sales.
Meister is supportive of Illumina and its CEO Jacob Thaysen, and wants the company to focus on execution and provide predictable, profitable growth, the WSJ reported.
Activist investor Carl Icahn ran a proxy fight at the company in 2023. Icahn won a board seat and soon after saw a new CEO, Thaysen, arrive.
The current chairman and Icahn nominee, Stephen MacMillan, will retire from the board after a nearly two-year stint, the report added.
Illumina's shares rose 1.5% in premarket trading, following the report. The stock has declined 34% so far this year.
Reporting by Bhanvi Satija and Christy Santhosh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar and Shounak Dasgupta
Source: Reuters