23andMe files for bankruptcy and will try to find a buyer

23andMe files for bankruptcy

What 23andMe customers should cognize aft institution files for bankruptcy 02:26

23andMe, a formerly high-flying familial investigating company, announced Sunday that it was declaring bankruptcy and that it would question a buyer. 

The institution besides said CEO and co-founder Anne Wojcicki is resigning instantly and volition beryllium replaced by Chief Financial and Accounting Officer Joe Selsavage arsenic interim main executive.

23andMe moved successful November to slash 40% of its workforce arsenic portion of a restructuring plan, a measurement that came astir 2 months aft its full committee resigned. 

"We expect the court-supervised process volition beforehand our efforts to code the operational and fiscal challenges we face, including further outgo reductions and the solution of ineligible and leasehold liabilities," 23andMe Chair Mark Jensen said successful a statement. "We judge successful the worth of our radical and our assets and anticipation that this process allows our ngo of helping radical access, recognize and payment from the quality genome to unrecorded connected for the payment of customers and patients."

23andMe offers 2 basal kinds of services — user and therapeutics. The erstwhile provides radical with accusation connected their ancestry and familial wellness profile, including the hazard of passing connected definite conditions to their children, according to S&P Capital IQ. The therapeutics portion works to make treatments and conducts probe into cancer, immune diseases and different conditions. 

Data privateness concerns

23andMe's struggles person raised concerns astir the privateness of its customers' familial data, which is utilized to hint people's ancestry, among different purposes. In filing for bankruptcy protection, the institution said determination volition beryllium nary changes to however it manages and protects people's data. 

23andMe users indispensable explicitly affirm that the institution whitethorn stock their idiosyncratic data, though people's information could beryllium included arsenic portion of a merchantability of the company. Some states person passed privateness laws that would necessitate a person's consent earlier their familial information is transferred from 1 entity to another. 

In its bankruptcy announcement, 23andMe said immoderate purchaser of its assets would person to observe applicable privateness laws for lawsuit data. The institution has besides antecedently said that immoderate lawsuit information it shares with different parties is anonymous and can't beryllium traced to idiosyncratic users. 

23andMe besides allows customers to delete their accounts. To bash that, users indispensable log successful to their relationship and taxable a request. The institution volition nonstop an email confirming the petition to delete the data, which the idiosyncratic indispensable past verify. 

What happens to lawsuit information arsenic 23andMe goes retired of business? 02:10

23andMe's stock, which erstwhile traded for much than $300 a share, fell to 79 cents earlier the commencement of commercialized Monday. In January, 23andMe reported a third-quarter nett nonaccomplishment of $26.8 cardinal connected gross of $60.3 million, an betterment implicit its nonaccomplishment of $259.7 cardinal connected gross of $44.7 cardinal successful the year-ago period.

The institution filed for Chapter 11 extortion successful the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri. 23andMe said that, if granted support successful bankruptcy court, the institution would solicit bids from imaginable acquirers implicit a 45-day play and perchance behaviour an auction. 

One imaginable purchaser is Wojcicki herself. The executive, who precocious submitted an acquisition connection that 23andMe rejected earlier this month, said successful a societal media post Monday that she whitethorn again bid for 23andMe.

"I person resigned arsenic CEO of the institution truthful I tin beryllium successful the champion presumption to prosecute the institution arsenic an autarkic bidder," she wrote, adding that continues to judge successful the company's marque and business. 

"We person had galore successes but I arsenic instrumentality accountability for the challenges we person today. There is nary uncertainty that the challenges faced by 23andMe done an evolving concern exemplary person been real, but my content successful the institution and its aboriginal is unwavering," she said.