DNA testing firm 23andMe goes public through Branson’s ‘blank cheque’ SPAC
DNA testing firm 23andMe has announced it will go public through merging with Sir Richard Branson’s SPAC, after the firm was valued at $3.5bn.
The deal will see Branson and 23andMe chief executive Anne Wojcicki each put in $25m into a $250m private investment in public equity offering.
Other investors include Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, Altimeter Capital, Casdin Capital and Foresite Capital.
Rumours of an upcoming deal between VG Acquisition Corp and 23andMe were widely reported last week.
“As a fellow industry disruptor as well as early investor in 23andMe, we are thrilled to partner with Sir Richard Branson and VG Acquisition Corp. as we approach the next phase of our business, which will create new opportunities to revolutionize personalized healthcare and medicine,” Wojcicki said.
“We have always believed that healthcare needs to be driven by the consumer, and we have a huge opportunity to help personalize the entire experience at scale, allowing individuals to be more proactive about their health and wellness.
“Through a genetics-based approach, we fundamentally believe we can transform the continuum of healthcare.”
23andMe, which was founded in 2006, sells genetic testing kits directly to consumers and on Wednesday it launched a new Covid severity calculator.
The calculator determines the likelihood of someone getting hospitalised if they catch Covid.
The company benefited from $869m of private funding since it opened, with GlaxoSmithKline one of its key backers.