Independent 23andMe directors quit board over unsatisfactory buyout plan from CEO

(Reuters) – Independent directors of genetic testing company 23andMe said on Tuesday they had resigned from the company’s board after they did not receive a satisfactory takeover offer from CEO Anne Wojcicki.

Wojcicki, who has been trying to take the company private since April, proposed buying all of 23andMe’s outstanding shares not held by its affiliates for $0.40 a share in July.

“After months of work, we have yet to receive from you a fully funded, fully due diligence and actionable proposal that is in the best interest of unaffiliated shareholders,” the seven executives said in a letter to the company’s co-founder and CEO.

A special committee formed by the company rejected Wojcicki’s previous proposal, deeming it insufficient and not in the interests of unaffiliated shareholders.

“The fact that we have not seen any notable progress in the last 5 months leads us to believe that such a proposal will not be forthcoming,” the executives added.

They also said the special committee was not willing to consider further expansions and that the company’s board was OK with it.

Earlier this month, Wojcicki said she would be open to considering third-party takeover proposals for the company.

23andMe, best known for saliva-based testing kits that give users a glimpse of their genetic ancestry, went public in 2021.

(Reporting by Puyaan Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)