23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki Considers Taking Company Private (cnbc.com) 20
Ashley Capoot reports via CNBC: Anne Wojcicki, the CEO of 23andMe, is considering a proposal to take the genetic testing company private after its stock price tumbled more than 95% from its 2021 highs. A late Wednesday filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission said Wojcicki is working with advisors and plans to speak with possible financing sources and partners. She "wishes to maintain control" of the company and will "not be willing to support any alternative transaction," the filing said. [...] In November, 23andMe received a deficiency letter from the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Department, which said the company had 180 days to bring its share price back above $1. The company's board of directors formed a "Special Committee" in late March to help explore options that could juice the stock.
A press release on Thursday said the committee was made aware of Wojcicki's interest in acquiring all of 23andMe's outstanding shares. Wojcicki owns shares that make up more than 20% of those outstanding, which equates to about 49% of voting power, the release said. "The Special Committee will carefully review Ms. Wojcicki's proposal when and if it is made available and evaluate it in light of other available strategic alternatives, including continuing to operate as a publicly traded company," the committee said in the release. "The Special Committee is committed to acting in the best interests of 23andMe and its shareholders." The committee has engaged Wells Fargo as its financial advisor, and it said there is "no assurance" that Wojcicki's offer would result in the proposed outcome.
A press release on Thursday said the committee was made aware of Wojcicki's interest in acquiring all of 23andMe's outstanding shares. Wojcicki owns shares that make up more than 20% of those outstanding, which equates to about 49% of voting power, the release said. "The Special Committee will carefully review Ms. Wojcicki's proposal when and if it is made available and evaluate it in light of other available strategic alternatives, including continuing to operate as a publicly traded company," the committee said in the release. "The Special Committee is committed to acting in the best interests of 23andMe and its shareholders." The committee has engaged Wells Fargo as its financial advisor, and it said there is "no assurance" that Wojcicki's offer would result in the proposed outcome.
Value (Score:3, Insightful)
Unless they have some new market to tap into or a new product/service to sell, I don't really see the value in the company at all.
Re: (Score:2)
if both your parents have one, their children don't need one
I guess, if you're satisfied only knowing you might have inherited this or that.
140 million humans are born every year. If they could sell to 1% of those that'd be a nice business. Can they? Who knows, but that's only a marketing problem.
Unless they have some new market
All companies are always planning to move into new markets.
Re:Value (Score:5, Insightful)
The trend is increasing demand for DNA tests, not decreasing. https://knowyourdna.com/dna-te... [knowyourdna.com]
I'm a happy customer of 23andMe, Ancestry DNA, and Family Tree DNA. I have contributed my DNA raw data to GedMatch and marked it *available* to law enforcement for investigative purposes. I continue to learn more from these DNA tests. The science is interesting, and I enjoy occasionally making contact with distant relatives I didn't know I had.
No, not everybody is horrified.
Re:Value (Score:5, Informative)
I can see a market for medical use. I have a family member that had a doctor order a DNA test because the medicine was not working... turns out a genetic defect caused the generic medicine to not be as effective. I have another friend who got a DNA test to optimize their diet. But your point stands, after you get one test, would you ever need another?
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Value (Score:5, Informative)
If you avoid getting a DNA test because you're worried about the government using it to track you down, it's already too late. All they need is for one of your relatives to have gotten a test, somebody as distant as 2nd or 3rd cousin is close enough. Do you even know all your 3rd cousins? Probably not. This LA Times story has the details of how the "Golden State Killer" was identified through DNA, though he had personally never been tested. https://www.latimes.com/califo... [latimes.com]
Re:Value (Score:5, Informative)
There are a number of DNA testing companies. Just because 23andme is badly managed does not mean there is no market.
* testing children is as important as the parents for the same medical reasons. Many mutations that have impact on health happen randomly at conception time, so you need to test for them on children even if you have the whole genome sequencing of the parents. If both parents have one, there are good chances they are big fans and will purchase the service for each and every children. Some of these companies specifically market a baby test kit.
* genetic counselling for couples (testing compatibility) and pre-natal testing are already big.
* some people test their pets.
* paternity testing seems a pretty big market on its own.
* You only need 1 sequencing in your lifetime, BUT: you purchase periodic refresh of the medical information to account for the advances in identifying the mutations related to disease. Hundreds of scientific papers with such information are published every year.
* Clever companies sell the information piecewise. You only purchased "cancer" for you and your wife because you were concerned, now you want "genetic counselling before having kids so that will be another X dollars for the information, though they already have the sequence.
* some of these companies now sell sequencing of bacteria based on the same saliva sample. This also helps with optimizing diet.
* one day they might sell other related analyses such as epigenetics (DNA methylation) or exosome (certain protein agglomerates)
But even the possibility to sell one single service worth several hundred euros/dollars once to each person on the planet is still a big market. They don't need to sell sequencing daily to the same people to be successful. Thousand of people are being born every year (or reach adulthood) and ant to know their risks for different cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, and auto-immune diseases. The market is similar to refrigerators and laundry machines. You just need one per family and best branded quality last for decades.
Re: (Score:2)
Additionally, one sequencing in a lifetime is currently not currently sufficient. Consumer-grade sequencing is not complete, it's just a good half of the DNA. For important works that need full coverage, scientists repeat 10 times the sequencing and merge the results. Possibly the techniques will advanced in the future, and therefore it could be beneficial to repeat a sequencing after e.g. 15 years to enjoy the progress.
delisting (Score:5, Informative)
The business model is sound (Score:5, Interesting)
The company still has strong sales, and the industry is expanding. https://knowyourdna.com/dna-te... [knowyourdna.com]
The drop in share price is more about fear, than business principles.. It's certainly a better bet than DJT.
Re:The business model is sound (Score:4, Funny)
Re: (Score:2)
The WeWork Ponzi Scheme (Score:3)
Pump, dump, crash, buy back.
Will work for Adam and Rebekaaaaaaah
Time to start selling all those genetic profiles, (Score:3)
So she's gonna bring in private equity and sell all the genetic profiles, right?
explore options that could juice the stock. (Score:3)