23andMe board resigns as CEO of DNA testing company plans to go private

23andMe’s board of directors has resigned following disagreement over its CEO’s plans to privatize the DNA testing company.

While originally consisting of eight members, all seven independent directors left the board. Chairman and co-founder Ann Wojcicki remains adamant about privatizing the company. According to The hillWojcicki filed a proposal in late July to halt public trading of the company’s stock. Wojcicki initially expressed interest in this in April.

A special committee within the board rejected the proposal. They claimed it did not provide a premium to the closing price and that the plan did not have sufficient funding. As of September 23, the company’s stock price fell to 34 cents per share.

The board initially offered Wojcicki “limited” additional time to revise her proposal. However, the committee released a statement sharing their joint resignation after not receiving an update.

“After months of work, we have still not received a fully funded, rigorous and actionable proposal from you that is in the best interests of the non-member shareholders,” the board wrote. We believe that the Special Committee and the Board have given you sufficient time to submit such a proposal. The fact that we have not seen significant progress in the past five months leads us to believe that such a proposal will not happen…’

The statement continued: “It is also clear that we differ on the strategic direction for the company going forward. Because of that difference and because of your (Wojcicki’s) concentrated voting power, we believe it is in the best interest of the Company’s shareholders that we resign from the Board of Directors, rather than engage in a protracted and distracting disagreement with you have about the direction of the company.”

Wojcicki co-founded the company in 2006. It became popular for its accessible at-home DNA testing kits that allow users to learn their genetic history. However, the typical one-time purchase left the company struggling to grow and maintain revenues.

The financial problems reached a peak in November 2023. The company received a notice of default from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications department. The agency informed 23andMe of their 180-day deadline to bring their stock price to $1, which led to the current situation.

In response to the mass resignations, Wojcicki announced that she would “remain committed” to pulling 23andMe out of the financial downturn.

The story continues

“I remain committed to our customers, my employees and our shareholders to achieve our goals,” she wrote. “I continue to believe that we will be better positioned to achieve our mission and goals beyond the short-term pressures of the public markets and that taking 23andMe private will be the best opportunity for long-term success.”

In the meantime, Wojcicki tries to fill the newly vacant spots on the board.

She added: “We will immediately begin identifying independent directors for the board. I would like to thank the directors for their service to the company and its shareholders.”

RELATED CONTENT: Viola Davis traces her roots, DNA test reveals messy secret about her ancestors