23andMe, the personal genomics company, went public in early 2021 via a merger with a blank check company that valued it at $3.5 billion. Then its fortunes began to sink. Fading interest in DNA kits – 23andMe’s main product – was one driver. So was news last year that hackers stole ancestry data on 6.9 million of its users.
CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki now reportedly wants to take the 18-year-old company private. After her own proposal to buy it was rebuffed by its board in July, she was given time to wangle another deal. But its independent directors announced Tuesday evening they’ve lost faith that another proposal is coming, adding that because of Wojcicki’s voting power, they are out.
The company’s market cap closed the day at $173 million. Losing its glittering board – which included Sequoia Capital’s Roelof Botha and YouTube CEO Neal Mohan, among five others – will likely drive its shares down further. One question is whether a shareholder lawsuit might follow.