Personal genomics company 23andMe went public in early 2021 after merging with a blank-check company valued at $3.5 billion. Then the company’s fortunes began to take a nosedive. One reason was the waning interest in its DNA kits (23andMe’s flagship product). Another was the news last year that hackers had stolen the ancestry data of 6.9 million users.
CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki now wants to take the 18-year-old company private. After her bid to buy the company was rejected by the board in July, she was given time to strike another deal. But independent directors announced Tuesday evening that they had lost faith in another offer, adding that Wojcicki’s “concentrated voting power” had caused the deal to end with immediate effect.
The company ended the day with a market cap of $173 million. The loss of a five-person board of directors, including Sequoia Capital’s Roelof Botha and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, could see the stock price fall even further. One question is whether shareholder lawsuits will follow.
