What You Ought to Know:
– 23andMe, a human genetics and biotechnology firm, has introduced its determination to provoke voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings within the U.S. Chapter Courtroom for the Jap District of Missouri.
– The chapter submitting is geared toward facilitating a structured sale course of to maximise the worth of its enterprise. The corporate has assured its prospects that operations will proceed as regular and that there might be no adjustments to the best way buyer information is saved, managed, or protected.
Chapter 11 Particulars
23andMe is looking for courtroom authorization to conduct a sale of considerably all its property, both by a Chapter 11 plan or underneath Part 363 of the U.S. Chapter Code. Upon courtroom approval, the corporate, with the help of an unbiased funding banker, will actively solicit certified bids over a 45-day interval. If a number of bids are acquired, an public sale might be held to make sure the best doable worth is obtained.
To make sure continued operations throughout the proceedings, 23andMe has filed customary “first-day” motions, looking for courtroom approval to pay worker wages and advantages, and compensate important distributors and suppliers. The corporate has additionally requested approval to reject quite a few contracts, together with actual property leases in Sunnyvale and San Francisco, to cut back ongoing working bills. Moreover, 23andMe plans to make use of these proceedings to resolve all excellent authorized liabilities stemming from the beforehand disclosed October 2023 cyber incident.
As much as $35M in DIP Financing
The corporate has secured a dedication for debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing of as much as $35 million from JMB Capital Companions. Upon courtroom approval, this financing, mixed with money generated from ongoing operations, is predicted to offer ample liquidity to help the enterprise all through the Chapter 11 course of.
This determination follows the rejection by the Particular Committee of a remaining non-binding acquisition proposal from Anne Wojcicki and her associates, which was submitted on March 10, 2025.
Management Modifications
At the side of these proceedings, 23andMe has introduced management adjustments. Anne Wojcicki has resigned from her place as Chief Government Officer, efficient instantly, by mutual settlement with the Particular Committee. She’s going to stay a member of the Board. Joe Selsavage, Chief Monetary and Accounting Officer, has been appointed Interim Chief Government Officer, and Matt Kvarda, a Managing Director at Alvarez & Marsal, has been named Chief Restructuring Officer. Thomas Walper has joined the Board and the Particular Committee as an unbiased director, and Mr. Jensen has been appointed Chair of the Board.
“After a radical analysis of strategic options, we’ve decided {that a} court-supervised sale course of is the very best path ahead to maximise the worth of the enterprise,” mentioned Mark Jensen, Chair and member of the Particular Committee of the Board of Administrators. “We anticipate the court-supervised course of will advance our efforts to deal with the operational and monetary challenges we face, together with additional price reductions and the decision of authorized and leasehold liabilities. We imagine within the worth of our folks and our property and hope that this course of permits our mission of serving to folks entry, perceive and profit from the human genome to reside on for the advantage of prospects and sufferers.”
Jensen continued, “We need to thank our workers for his or her dedication to 23andMe’s mission. We’re dedicated to supporting them as we transfer by the method. As well as, we’re dedicated to persevering with to safeguard buyer information and being clear concerning the administration of consumer information going ahead, and information privateness might be an essential consideration in any potential transaction.”
