By now, I am sure that you have read the press release and employee letter concerning the Roche offer for Illumina. As Severin Schwan and Daniel O’Day pointed out in the employee letter, the combination of Roche Diagnostics and Illumina is a good strategic fit for both businesses. From our Roche Applied Science (RAS) perspective, this move would put us in a leading position in the areas of sequencing and microarrays and complements our portfolio in genetics/genomics research and diagnostics. You will also have seen that we intend to combine RAS with Illumina and move the business area’s headquarters from Penzberg to San Diego, California, where Illumina is based. We plan to maintain RAS operations in Penzberg.
I am sure that you have many questions, primarily, “what does this mean for me?” It is too soon to answer that question for any of us. Once the transaction is closed, we will start more detailed planning and begin to answer that key question for you. You should have received an invitation for a global web-cast with Daniel O’Day later today. I am hopeful that you will attend. In addition, over the coming days, Frank Pitzer, Thomas Schinecker, other members of the RAS Leadership Team and I will be holding a series of smaller meetings to listen to your questions and concerns and try to address them to the best of our ability. If you want to reach out to me directly, please feel free to do so.
The next steps toward closing the transaction will take time -- this can be many months. In the meantime, we have a business to run. I understand you will need a moment to digest the news and discuss with colleagues, friends and family. However, I ask you to quickly return to focus on your job and deliver on your commitments. This will provide a constructive distraction from the events outside of our control and it is absolutely critical for our successful future in RAS.
Thank you in advance for your commitment and support.
Sincerely,
Dan Zabrowski
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