Read the memo 23andMe’s cofounder sent to staff after the entire board quit
Wojcicki wrote the company would be better positioned “outside of the short term pressures of the public markets.”
23andMe’s entire board of directors resigned from the company over cofounder and CEO Anne Wojcicki’s ongoing plans to take it private.
In a letter to Wojcicki on Tuesday — which was also posted by the company as a press release — the board wrote it had “yet to receive from you a fully financed, fully diligenced, actionable proposal” about the plans.
In April, Wojcicki said she wanted to buy the once-hot DNA company and take it private.
But in August, a special committee formed by the board rejected her proposal, saying it provided “no premium to the closing price per share,” lacked “committed financing,” and was “conditional in nature.”
In August, the board said it would give Wojcicki “a limited amount of additional time.” On Tuesday, the board said time was up.
While the board wrote in its letter that it supported 23andMe’s overarching mission of personalized health, it diverged with Wojcicki on strategy. That, in turn, presented a “distracting difference of view” given the concentration of her voting power, the board wrote.
Wojcicki — who serves as chair of the board and its only current member — responded to the resignations in an email to 23andMe employees, writing that she was “surprised and disappointed” and that the company would “immediately” begin to create a new board.
Here’s her full memo:
I am surprised and disappointed by the decision of the directors to resign.
I have been committed to the mission of 23andMe for the last 18 years and believe strongly in the potential for genetic information to transform healthcare and the therapeutic discovery process. I remain committed to our customers, my employees and to our stockholders to achieve our goals. I continue to believe that we will be better positioned to achieve our mission and goals outside of the short term pressures of the public markets and that taking 23andMe private will be the best opportunity for long term success.
We will immediately begin identifying independent directors to join the board. I want to thank the directors for their service to the company and its stockholders.
Once worth billions, shares of 23andMe had a market capitalization of $176 million Thursday, with shares trading at 35 cents. The Nasdaq had previously said it would delist the company if shares remained below $1.
A rep for Wojcicki did not immediately respond to a request for comment from B-17.
