Anne Wojcicki, co-founder and CEO of 23andme Inc., in the course of the South by Southwest (SXSW) competition in Austin, Texas, USA, on Friday, March 10, 2023.
Jordan Vonderhaar | Bloomberg | Getty Pictures
All seven impartial administrators of 23andI resigned from the corporate’s board of administrators on Tuesday, a transfer CEO Anne Wojcicki stated left her “stunned and upset,” in line with a memo to workers.
Wojcicki, who co-founded 23andMe in 2006, stated she stays dedicated to taking the corporate non-public.
The genetic testing firm went public in 2021 by way of a particular function acquisition firm (SPAC), and its inventory value has been largely in freefall since then, down greater than 95% from its peak. The administrators fashioned a particular committee in late March to discover potential paths ahead.
Wojcicki submitted a proposal to take the corporate non-public in July, but it surely was rejected by the particular committee, partially as a result of it didn’t supply a premium on the closing value of 40 cents per share on the time.
In a letter to Wojcicki on Tuesday, the administrators stated that they had not but seen a “totally funded, totally dedicated, executable proposal that’s in the most effective pursuits of the non-affiliated shareholders.” The administrators stated they disagreed with Wojcicki on the “strategic path for the corporate”, so that they determined to resign with speedy impact.
“The truth that we’ve got not seen vital progress up to now 5 months leads us to imagine that no such proposal will likely be forthcoming,” they wrote. “The Particular Committee is subsequently unwilling to think about additional extensions, and the Board agrees with the Particular Committee’s willpower.”
Wojcicki wrote within the worker memo, which was considered by CNBC, that she nonetheless sees taking 23andMe non-public because the “greatest likelihood for long-term success.” The corporate will start a seek for new impartial administrators to hitch the board, she added.
Removed from its one-time valuation of $3.5 billion, 23andMe now has a market cap of lower than $200 million. Shares closed at 34 cents on Tuesday.
This is Wojcicki’s full memo:
group 23,
We want to inform you that the 23andMe board issued a press launch this afternoon stating that every one impartial administrators have resigned from the board, efficient instantly.
I’m stunned and upset by the administrators’ resolution to resign.
I’ve been dedicated to 23andMe’s mission for the previous 18 years and imagine strongly within the potential of genetic data to remodel healthcare and the therapeutic discovery course of. I stay dedicated to our prospects, my workers and our shareholders to attain our goals. I proceed to imagine that we are going to be higher positioned to attain our mission and targets past the short-term pressures of the general public markets and that taking 23andMe non-public would be the greatest alternative for long-term success.
We’ll instantly start figuring out impartial administrators for the board. I want to thank the administrators for his or her service to the corporate and its shareholders.
I haven’t got any extra data to share at the moment, however we’ll replace on Thursday’s Feisty when potential.
Anne
WATCH: 23andMe’s CEO recordsdata to take the corporate non-public
