KEY TAKEAWAYS
- 23andMe’s CEO, Anne Wojcicki, is seeking to take the DNA-testing company private less than three years after it went public in a SPAC deal.
- Wojcicki holds voting power of 49.99% in the company, so a third-party acquisition is nearly impossible.
- The company was hit by a large data hack late last year.
23andMe (ME) chief executive Anne Wojcicki is seeking to take the DNA-testing company private less than three years after it went public, the firm said in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.
Wojcicki informed a special committee of the board on April 13 that she is seeking to take the California-based consumer genetics and research company private and has “indicated that she was working with advisors and intended to begin speaking to potential partners and financing sources,” the filing said.
Wojcicki holds 49.99% of the voting power in the company she co-founded in 2006, so a third-party acquisition is nearly impossible. “Ms. Wojcicki also indicated in her Schedule 13D filing that she wishes to maintain control of 23andMe and, therefore, will not be willing to support any alternative transaction,” the company said in a press release Thursday.
Shares of the formerly high-flying company, which went public in June 2021 in a SPAC deal and was hit by a large data hack late last year, jumped nearly 40% as of 10 a.m. ET Thursday from Wednesday’s all-time low closing price of 35.6 cents.
The declines in 23andMe’s shares come as DNA tests lose favor among consumers since people don’t tend to take several tests. 23andMe tried to create a recurring revenue stream by launching a subscription product, but that hasn’t succeeded.
Nasdaq in November threatened to delist the stock if its price did not get back above $1 in the next 180 days.