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23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

reuters.com

261–270 of 426 posts

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#261

Even if you haven't personally used their service, if any close relatives have, they already have a sizable amount of information on your genome. They maintain the equivalent of "shadow profiles" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_profile ) as part of their data model for "ancestry" modeling purposes - for example inferring a paternal haplogroup based on data uploaded by genetic relatives. I can only hope at the…

I'm a genetic engineer at a large pharma company. Genetic engineering of human model systems is my specialty. If I were a malicious actor, I could not do anything useful with the genome of any one person. Most peoples genomes are boring and at best sway the predisposition for disease by a modest degree. Exposing infidelity is honestly the best I can come up with.

Isn't there possibility of very in depth racial profiling?

I mean ancestry.com data van be used similarly, but genetical info is inobfuscable.

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#262
post #180

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not zero; In all bankruptcies, the shareholders get whatever is left over after liquidating all company assets and paying back all creditors. In most high-profile bankruptcies, there aren't enough assets to even finish paying creditors, yet alone creditors. However, this is a voluntary Bankruptcy, so there might actually be assets left over to pay out to shareholders.

Which is still gonna be significantly worse than the $8/share offered. If the value of assets after paying off debtors is > $8/share, then that’s the easiest arbitrage opportunity considering it’s currently trading at $1.80. Just buy the whole thing for $3/share (an irrefutable premium of 67%), shut down operations entirely, pay off the creditors, and pocket the net assets of > $8/share and more than double your mone…

For this reason I’ve never heard of a stock which is selling at less than assets minus debts for very long. It’s an easy hostile takeover + fire sale situation.

So I’m doubting that is what is really happening here?

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#263
post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't be surprised if Wojcicki faces a class action suit over fiduciary responsibility.

No point in doing this. Just enriches the lawyers. Then Wojicki just flees the country and skirts any responsibility.

Interpol warrant or similar is a powerful career and life crapper, most people prefer avoiding that and triple that for CEOs and their comfy global lifestyles.

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#264

Even if you haven't personally used their service, if any close relatives have, they already have a sizable amount of information on your genome. They maintain the equivalent of "shadow profiles" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_profile ) as part of their data model for "ancestry" modeling purposes - for example inferring a paternal haplogroup based on data uploaded by genetic relatives. I can only hope at the…

If 23andMe makes "shadow profiles", it would necessarily be for common ancestors, probably long dead. They can't see "down" into the genetic tree at all - whether great-grandma had 1 child or 13 they'll never know until the descendants take tests. But also, if 23andMe does this, they are short-changing their genealogy customers. One of the main things a genealogy customer would like to know about a match is if they're on the maternal side, paternal, or both (more common than you'd think, and mostly not because your parents are related). 23andMe, from what I read, does not do this - and that suggests that they're not getting much out of those shadow profiles.

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#265

Even if you haven't personally used their service, if any close relatives have, they already have a sizable amount of information on your genome. They maintain the equivalent of "shadow profiles" ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_profile ) as part of their data model for "ancestry" modeling purposes - for example inferring a paternal haplogroup based on data uploaded by genetic relatives. I can only hope at the…

I'm a genetic engineer at a large pharma company. Genetic engineering of human model systems is my specialty. If I were a malicious actor, I could not do anything useful with the genome of any one person. Most peoples genomes are boring and at best sway the predisposition for disease by a modest degree. Exposing infidelity is honestly the best I can come up with.

The people with the most to lose from widespread access to genetic data are those involved in outright crimes, like rape and child sexual abuse. Did you in a younger day get some underage girl pregnant? You're at risk. Or paternity lawsuits without the age restriction.

I wonder if some of those freaking out about the issue have a reason to be concerned.

On the other hand, once the information is out there, any aggrieved party will have plausible access to it, so it could be argued any statute of limitations would kick in.

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#266

23andMe has been in a deadlock for a while. - The CEO is effectively the control owner of the company, having 49% of the voting right. She has been trying to take the company private for some time. - Last August, she proposed to buy all the outstanding shares at $8 per share. The board rejected. She installed a new board, and submitted her proposal again at $2.53 per share. The board rejected. She tried it a third ti…

Couldn't she just buy 2% of the company at the market price?

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#267
post #262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Which is still gonna be significantly worse than the $8/share offered. If the value of assets after paying off debtors is > $8/share, then that’s the easiest arbitrage opportunity considering it’s currently trading at $1.80. Just buy the whole thing for $3/share (an irrefutable premium of 67%), shut down operations entirely, pay off the creditors, and pocket the net assets of > $8/share and more than double your mone…

For this reason I’ve never heard of a stock which is selling at less than assets minus debts for very long. It’s an easy hostile takeover + fire sale situation. So I’m doubting that is what is really happening here?

It does happen for many reasons and not uncommon, uncertainty and risk is typically why.

There isn’t one single value, value derived ( let alone perceived) is subjective

In this case, The stock is worth more(or less) to the 49% shareholder than others who are may value the founder holding defacto controlling stake negatively, thus discount the stock less than its book value .

This is also why sometimes same class of shares held by different people get priced (i.e. valued) differently in a single deal. Recently the paramount one is a good example .

Another famous example Yahoo was valued negatively for a long time before its sale to Verizon, I.e. its market cap was less than the value of its alibaba holdings .

One off events like county cases , drug trials likelyhood of a merger approval from regulators are hard to price accurately and can skew.

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#268
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By the sounds of it, the board is about to find out what the market rate really is.

I mean if it was trading at $8/share isn't the market rate $8/share?

When the tide goes out you can tell who is skinny dipping.

(apologies for the below crude metaphor.. but...)

I am 1.80. You can kick me in the nuts and I will fold, but I will still be 1.80 a few minutes later.

Let's see after the kick in the nuts if the price will still be $8.

When there is blood in the water the sharks start circling. And some sharks 'short'. And I know little about their operations of 23andMe, but I understand the _value_ of their data!!!!! So they may be sitting on a pile of Latinum and not be able to fully monetize it (sell it to every pharma/insurance/etc.) company on the planet.

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#269
post #130
post #123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Just requested my data deletion. Seems like it worked.

Does a deletion request delete your data, or unlink it from you? Because they use shadow profiles.

I always think of such mandates and laws assumes good faith from the company it is targeting which then leads to "trust me bro" vibes.

Re: 23andMe files for bankruptcy to sell itself

#270
post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So rather than $8 a share they get zero? Sounds like the board was the one that messed things up. The share was trading at $8-$9 at the time. The primary reason why the board has been rejecting the offer is that the CEO kept proposing discount prices to the market rate.

By the sounds of it, the board is about to find out what the market rate really is.

We're living in a time when it might well be worth the cost to stand up to a bully.
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