NEW YORK – 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki affirmed that she is not open to hearing third-party takeover proposals in a brief statement filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission after the close of the market on Monday.
"In response to a request from the then-current special committee of the board," she wrote, "I stated that I would consider third party takeover proposals for 23andMe. Whether I would ultimately accept such a proposal remained within my discretion. In the interim period, based on subsequent developments, it has become even clearer to me that the best path forward … is for me to take the company private."
As such, Wojcicki added, "in order to update my prior statement and avoid any confusion in the market, I am no longer open to considering third party takeover proposals" for 23andMe. In addition, she said she remains committed to completing an acquisition of the company, which is "working diligently to repopulate the board of directors" so any acquisition proposals can be properly considered.
The statement comes as companies have begun to publicly express interest in purchasing 23andMe.
The CEO of Nucleus Genomics, for instance, stated that he was "considering the possibility of making a public offering" for the company in a recent LinkedIn post.
The independent directors of the company's board resigned en masse on Sept. 17, citing an inability to reach an agreement with Wojcicki on how best to move forward with her take-private proposal. The SEC issued a warning of Nasdaq listing noncompliance the next day, explaining that the company must have a certain number of directors in the vacated positions to regain compliance.
Wojcicki had submitted her own proposal to take the company private in August.