23andMe's board resigns as the CEO of a DNA testing company plans to go private

23andMe's board has resigned following disagreements over the CEO's plans to take the DNA testing company private.

While there were originally eight members present, all seven independent directors left the board as chairwoman and co-founder Ann Wojcicki remains adamant about privatizing the company. Accordingly The hillIn late July, Wojcicki made a proposal to stop public trading of the company's shares. Wojcicki initially expressed interest in it in April.

A special committee within the board rejected the proposal. They claimed that there was no premium to the closing price and that the plan was underfunded. On September 23, the company's stock price fell to 34 cents per share.

The board originally offered Wojcicki “limited” additional time to revise her proposal. However, the committee released a statement announcing its joint resignation as it did not receive an update.

“After months of work, we have not yet received from you a fully funded, carefully vetted and actionable proposal that is in the best interests of unaffiliated 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 last five months leads us to believe that there will be no such proposal…”

The statement continued: “It is also clear that we have different opinions regarding the future strategic direction of the company. Because of this difference and 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 rather than engage in a protracted and distracting disagreement with you over the direction of the Company.”

Wojcicki co-founded the company in 2006. It gained popularity through 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 sales.

In November 2023, the financial problems came to a head. The company received a notice of deficiencies from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications department. The agency informed 23andMe of its 180-day deadline to increase the share price to $1, which led to the current situation.

In response to the mass resignations, Wojcicki announced that she would remain committed to leading 23andMe out of financial decline.

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 outside of the short-term pressures of public markets and that privatizing 23andMe will be our best chance for long-term success.”

In the meantime, Wojcicki is trying to fill the newly vacant positions on the board.

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

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