Troubled 23andMe is exploring a sale of the business

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Genetic testing specialist 23andMe has launched a strategic review that could result in a sale of the company, after months of speculation about its future.

The company's board has formed a committee to look into its options, which could include "a possible sale of the company, business combination, sale of all or part of the company's assets, licensing of assets, restructuring, or other strategic action," according to a statement.

The move comes a few weeks after 23andMe announced sweeping job losses affecting around 40% of its headcount and an exit from the drug discovery and development business, in moves designed to slash $35 million from its annual costs.

That left it focused on its original business of providing saliva-based genetic testing for health and ancestry, partnerships with biopharma companies to use its genetic data resources for drug discovery, and an online health operation that has grown out of its takeover of telehealth firm Lemonaid in 2021.

Last week, rumours surfaced that 23andMe was considering a sale of Lemonaid, which is looking increasingly peripheral to its main business.

23andMe's revenue growth has shifted into reverse in recent years, falling 33% in the third quarter of 2024 to $44.7 million, in part because genetic testing does not generally call for any repeat business. It has also been affected by the unpredictable timing of revenues from its R&D partnerships, which include alliances with GSK and Mirador Therapeutics.

Last year, founder and chief executive Anne Wojcicki launched a bid to take the company private with a $0.40 per share purchase of all shares she does not already own, but that was rejected by a special committee of the board of directors.

Former independent directors of 23andMe complained in a joint resignation letter that, despite months of work, Wojcicki had not come to the table with "a fully financed, fully diligenced, actionable proposal that is in the best interests of the non-affiliated shareholders."

In its statement, the company's board stressed there "can be no assurance that the exploration of strategic alternatives will result in any agreements or transactions."

Shares in 23andMe are currently trading at around $3.40, giving it a valuation of just under $82 million. The company went public via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in 2021 and at one point was valued at $3.5 billion.