The seven independent directors of genetic testing company 23andMe resigned on Tuesday, September 17, saying that they had not yet received a satisfactory take-private proposal from CEO Anne Wojcicki five months after she made the offer.
Wojcicki has been trying to take the company private since April; Wojcicki's previous proposal, in which she proposed to acquire all outstanding 23andMe shares not owned by her or her affiliates for 40¢ per share, was rejected by the special committee formed by the company. The committee judged it not in the best interest of the nonaffiliated shareholders.
23andMe went public in 2021.
In a letter to Wojcicki, the seven directors said they were resigning effective immediately, saying that "After months of work, we have yet to receive from you a fully financed, fully diligenced, actionable proposal that is in the best interests of the non-affiliated shareholders … That we have not seen any notable progress over the last 5 months leads us to believe no such proposal is forthcoming."
The directors added that the board agreed with the special committee's unwillingness to consider any further extensions. The letter was signed by all seven independent directors: Roelof Botha, Patrick Chung, Dr. Sandra Hernández, Neal Mohan, Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, Richard Scheller, PhD, and Peter J. Taylor.
