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Genetics testing firm 23andMe has filed for chapter safety within the US in a bid to promote itself, with chief govt Anne Wojcicki stepping down instantly because the as soon as high-flying tech group fights for survival.
California-based 23andMe stated late on Sunday that it had filed for Chapter 11 chapter proceedings to “facilitate a sale course of to maximise the worth of its enterprise” after exploring strategic alternate options.
In a submit on X on Sunday, Wojcicki stated she was upset {that a} earlier bid she had made to take the corporate personal was rejected. She was resigning in an effort to “be in the most effective place to pursue the corporate as an unbiased bidder”, she added.
The corporate has been going through doubts over its enterprise mannequin, disputes with buyers and rising concern over who owns its huge database. It has by no means reported a web revenue and has plunged in worth from a peak of $5.8bn in February 2021 to a market capitalisation of lower than $50mn for its Nasdaq-listed shares.
“We anticipate the court-supervised course of will advance our efforts to handle the operational and monetary challenges we face, together with additional value reductions and the decision of authorized and leasehold liabilities,” stated Mark Jensen, chair and member of the board’s particular committee that introduced the Chapter 11 course of.
Revenues have slumped amid slowing demand for 23andMe’s signature “spit kits”, and the corporate final yr introduced a restructuring that halted its efforts to develop new medicines — ending Wojcicki’s long-held ambition to show the enterprise right into a drug improvement firm.
Wojcicki has tried a number of occasions to take the corporate personal and final yr pitched enterprise capitalists on a deal that might redefine the corporate as a healthcare subscription enterprise and a supplier of genetic knowledge.
Her first bid helped set off the resignation of unbiased board administrators final September. They complained Wojcicki had failed to supply a “totally financed proposal” and stated her “concentrated voting energy” left them with few different choices. One other bid was rejected earlier this month.
Wojcicki stated in her X submit on Sunday that she was supportive of the corporate, including: “If I’m lucky sufficient to safe the corporate’s property by the restructuring course of, I stay dedicated to our long-term imaginative and prescient of being a worldwide chief in genetics.”
Joe Selsavage, the corporate’s chief monetary and accounting officer, will substitute Wojcicki as interim chief govt, with 23andMe desiring to proceed working its enterprise through the sale course of. Wojcicki will stay on the corporate’s board of administrators.
23andMe stated it had additionally obtained a dedication for debtor-in-possession financing of as much as $35mn from funding agency JMB Capital Companions.
