23andMe Judge Questions Limits for New Auction for Bankrupt Firm
(Bloomberg) -- The judge overseeing the bankruptcy of 23andMe questioned the limits proposed for a second auction that is designed to push bids higher than a current $256 million offer from Regeneron Pharmaceuticals for the genetic-testing firm.
US Bankruptcy Judge Brian Walsh asked lawyers for Regeneron and 23andMe to justify the limits they're supporting, but which have been criticized by the only other bidder, a California-based research institute backed by former 23andMe Chief Executive Officer Anne Wojcicki.
Walsh has to decide whether to limit the auction in a way that gives Regeneron the chance for a final bid, but not Wojcicki and TTAM Research Institute. The current proposed rules for the auction appear to be 'inefficient,' said Walsh, who also questioned a $10 million breakup fee payable to Regeneron if it loses.
All sides were present during a federal court hearing in St. Louis on Wednesday to determine how to revive bidding, after 23andMe held an auction last month that the company initially claimed that Regeneron won with a $256 million final bid. Wojcicki objected after the auction, arguing the bidding was unfairly closed in order to favor Regeneron.
The current proposal is 'one-sided with a last look for Regeneron,' Wojcicki's lawyer, Susheel Kirpalani, told Walsh. 'There is absolutely not a level playing field.'
Last month's auction lasted three days with each side accusing 23andMe of unfairly favoring their competitor, company bankruptcy attorney Christopher Hopkins said in court.
Afterward, TTAM and Wojcicki made a bid that was 'substantially higher' than Regeneron's, he said. 23andMe then proposed a new, final bidding round with the current limits, which Regeneron accepted, but which Wojcicki opposes.
Without the limits, Regeneron may cancel its $256 million bid, Hopkins argued. That would mean no more offers would come in allowing TTAM and Wojcicki to get 23andMe for $156 million, since that was their last, binding bid before the auction ended.
A wave of customers and government officials have demanded that 23andMe protect the genetic data it had built up over the years by collecting saliva samples from customers. Both bidders have pledged to comply with 23andMe's privacy policy, which allows customers to have their personal information deleted upon request.
23andMe filed for bankruptcy in March after failing to generate sustainable profits by providing medical and ancestry-related genetic testing to more than 15 million customers. About 550,000 people had subscribed to the company's two primary services, which hasn't been enough to keep the company afloat. One of those services, Lemonaid Health, was not part of the sale and will be wound down, 23andMe said in a statement.
In the months leading up its bankruptcy, 23andMe tried to attract a buyer while struggling to end a class-action lawsuit related to a 2023 data breach that gave hackers access to customer information. The company will try to resolve those claims as part of the bankruptcy.
The case is 23andMe Holding Co., number 25-40976, in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Missouri.
--With assistance from Georgia Hall.
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