BY Richard Summerfield
DNA testing firm 23andMe has filed for Chapter 11 to help sell itself. Anne Wojcicki, 23andMe’s co-founder who has been attempting to take the company private, has stepped down from her role with the intent to become an outside bidder for the asset sale.
23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri to “facilitate a sale process to maximise the value of its business”. The company plans to sell its assets through a Chapter 11 plan which, if approved by the court, will see 23andMe “actively solicit qualified bids” over a 45-day process.
The company has between $100m and $500m in estimated assets, as well as between $100m and $500m in estimated liabilities, according to the bankruptcy filing. To support the business in the months ahead, private equity (PE) firm JMB Capital Partners has committed up to $35m of debtor-in-possession financing.
Ms Wojcicki will remain a member of the board. Joseph Selsavage, 23andMe’s chief financial and accounting officer, will serve as interim chief executive, according to a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
“After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we have determined that a court-supervised sale process is the best path forward to maximize the value of the business,” said Mark Jensen, chair and member of the special committee of the board. “We expect the court-supervised process will advance our efforts to address the operational and financial challenges we face, including further cost reductions and the resolution of legal and leasehold liabilities. We believe in the value of our people and our assets and hope that this process allows our mission of helping people access, understand and benefit from the human genome to live on for the benefit of customers and patients.
“We want to thank our employees for their dedication to 23andMe’s mission. We are committed to supporting them as we move through the process. In addition, 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,” he added.
23andMe has endured a difficult few years both financially and reputationally. The company was subject to an enormous data breach in 2023 that affected the data of nearly 7 million people, about half of its customers. Since that breach, revenues have fallen as many of its customers scrambled to delete their DNA data from the company’s archives. Amid falling share prices and a dwindling customer base, the company reduced its workforce by around 200 people – roughly 40 percent of its staff – and stopped development of all its therapies in November. The company also agreed to pay $30m and undergo three years of security monitoring to settle a lawsuit accusing it of failing to protect the privacy of those customers whose personal information was exposed in the data breach.
Since April 2024 Ms Wojcicki had pushed to buy out 23andMe, but her efforts were rebuffed by the board. Most recently, Ms Wojcicki and her PE partner New Mountain offered to acquire all of 23andMe’s outstanding shares for $2.53 per share, or an equity value of approximately $74.7m in February 2025, however that offer was rejected. Earlier this month she offered $0.41 per share, an 84 percent cut from an offer the previous month since her PE partner in that bid had walked following the board’s rejection.
News: DNA testing firm 23andMe files for bankruptcy as demand dries up