All seven members of 23andMe's board of directors have resigned in a scathing rebuke of CEO Anne Wojcicki's proposed plan to take the company private.
Wojcicki said: Trying to take the company private Since April, it has offered to acquire all of the outstanding shares of 23andMe stock not owned by her or her affiliates. $0.40 per sharein July.
“I am surprised and disappointed by the directors' decision to step down,” Wojcicki said in a Tuesday memo to employees obtained by The Washington Post.
Wojcicki added that his plan is “the best opportunity for long-term success.”
Shares of the genetic testing company rose 2.6% on Wednesday.
The shares have plummeted 96.6% since 2021, when the company went public through a merger with British billionaire Richard Branson's blank-check company VG Acquisition.
The company, once valued at $3.5 billion, now has a market capitalization of $180.2 million.
Independent directors had rejected her plan in July, saying it did not offer a premium to the company's then-closing price.
“After months of work, we have yet to receive a viable proposal that is fully funded, has undergone due diligence and takes into account the best interests of unaffiliated shareholders,” board members said. A letter sent to “Ann” on Tuesday.
“We believe that the special committee and the board have been provided with sufficient time to table such a proposal, and given the lack of significant progress over the past five months, we do not believe that such a proposal will be made going forward.”
Wojcicki co-founded 23andMe, a company known for its saliva DNA testing and digital ancestry tools, in 2006.
The board of directors established a special committee in late March to explore the future course of the embattled company.
The board, which includes doctors, venture capitalists and YouTube CEO Neil Mohan, said it was “clear that we have different views about the company's strategic direction going forward.”
The popularity of 23andMe and its DNA tests surged around 2018, but the company has since struggled.
The company's business model doesn't encourage many repeat customers, as all it takes to research one's ancestry is a single DNA test.
It is also rocked by scandal.
23andMe disclosed a data breach last year that included personal information about its customers.
The intrusion occurred over a period of five months before the company became aware of the hack.
The company confirmed the intrusion in October but did not disclose the full extent of the hack until December.
More Thirty lawsuits have been filed against the company. Regarding violations.
on monday, 23andMe agreed to pay a $30 million settlement. The class action lawsuit alleges that the company failed to warn Chinese and Ashkenazi Jewish customers that the breach appeared to specifically target their data.
The lawsuit alleges that the data of these customers was compiled into a list, Sold on the dark web.
