Activist Fund Unwinds Illumina Swap and Acquires Significant Equity

Keith A. Meister, head of the activist hedge fund Corvex Management, added to his position in U.S. genome sequencing equipment maker Illumina, Inc. (Nasdaq: ILMN) on May 7 and 11 by terminating part of his equity swaps and purchasing additional common shares. Over those two days, Corvex acquired approximately 88,000 Illumina common shares at $102.82 per share, while unwinding the same notional amount of its equity swap contracts at higher market levels and receiving cash settlement from the swap counterparty. The total cost of the spot purchases was about $9.1 million (roughly KRW 13 billion). Following these transactions, Meister and Corvex reported beneficial ownership of around 3.9 million Illumina shares and noted that they still hold a remaining swap position convertible into about 280,000 shares at $102.82 per share.

In its first-quarter 2026 results released on April 30, Illumina reported revenue of $1.09 billion and non-GAAP earnings per share of $1.15, marking year-over-year growth and leading the company to slightly raise its full-year revenue and earnings guidance. At the same time, Illumina completed its acquisition of SomaLogic and authorized a new $1.5 billion (approximately KRW 2 trillion) share repurchase program to further strengthen its shareholder-return policy.

Illumina is a global leader in next-generation sequencing instruments and related reagents and consumables, trading on Nasdaq under the ticker ILMN. It provides genomic analysis platforms to pharmaceutical companies, research institutions and hospitals around the world. Meister, who leads Corvex Management, is a well-known activist investor in the U.S. market, holding millions of Illumina shares and continuously exerting influence over the company’s strategy and governance as a major shareholder.