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23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its co-founder and CEO has resigned as the struggling genetic testing company continues its push to cut costs
23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and its co-founder and CEO has resigned as the struggling genetic testing company continues its push to cut costs.
The company said Sunday that it will look to sell “substantially all of its assets” through a court-approved reorganization plan.
The San Francisco-based company also said Anne Wojcicki had resigned as CEO effective immediately but would remain on the company’s board. Her resignation comes a couple weeks after a board committee had rejected a nonbinding acquisition proposal from Wojcicki.
Shares of 23andMe Holding Co., which have shed nearly all their value since last spring, plunged below $1 in premarket trading Monday.
The voluntary bankruptcy filing caps months of turmoil for the company, which has struggled to find a profitable business model since going public in 2021.
Last September, all of its independent directors resigned in a rare move following negotiations with Wojcicki, who had been trying to take the company private.
The company then announced in November that it would lay off 40% of its workforce, or more than 200 employees, and discontinue its therapeutics division.
In January, the board’s special committee said it was exploring strategic alternatives, including a possible sale.
Board Chair Mark Jensen said in a statement Sunday that the company has determined that a court-supervised sale was “the best path forward to maximize the value of the business.” He said they also expect it to help the company’s efforts to cut costs and also resolve legal and leasehold liabilities.
Jensen also said, “We are committed to continuing to safeguard customer data and being transparent about the management of user data going forward, and data privacy will be an important consideration in any potential transaction.”
23andMe plans to continue operating its business and has $35 million in debtor-in-possession financing from JMB Capital Partners.
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