Updated October 2026
Every reported bankruptcy and wind-down data sale, 2023-2026
If you need a precedent for selling a distressed company's records, the list is short. Only one company has done it in a US bankruptcy court: Spirit Airlines, where Google won the auction at $10.0M and approval was still pending in mid-October 2026. We keep internal communications and code apart from consumer data below, because they draw different buyers and different scrutiny.1,2
Internal records and code
Cases where the internal record or code was the asset
Spirit Airlines (Chapter 11, S.D.N.Y., 2026): Microsoft 365 email, Teams and file archive; Google successful at $10.0M, Mercor alternate at $7.5M, micro1 notice of intent at $12.5M; not approved as of mid-October 2026.3,1,4,2
Character.AI (Chapter 11, D. Del., 2026): Disney is the stalking horse at $20M for a non-exclusive license to code and patents; user data, the app and the brand are outside its term sheet. Auction proposed for 2026-11-23.5,6
cielo24 (voluntary wind-down via SimpleClosure, 2026): 13 years of Slack, Jira and email, for what was reported as hundreds of thousands of dollars. A crypto startup wound down through the same channel sold its code base for about $25,000, with about $15,000 for workspace data pending.7,8
SimpleClosure's aggregate: 150+ data deals for wound-down startups, typically $10K-$100K each, and 47% of its deals now include code or data, according to MIT Technology Review.9,10
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| Spirit data auction | Virtual auction of about two and a half hours on 2026-08-14, run by Davis Polk and PJT Partners. Google opened at $5.0M and won at $10.0M cash; Mercor is the alternate bidder at $7.5M |
| Character.AI stalking horse bid | Disney is the stalking horse bidder, paying $20M for a non-exclusive license to code and patents; the term sheet excludes the app, the brand, user data, user inputs and outputs, and finished models |
| Cielo24 archive sale | Cielo24 sold 13 years of Slack, Jira and email for "hundreds of thousands of dollars" |
| A closed crypto startup's data | About $25,000 for its code base, with about $15,000 for workspace data pending |
| Deals closed | 150+ data deals for wound-down startups, typically $10K-$100K each |
Consumer data, kept separate
Cases where the asset was customer data
These are context only. They sold records about customers, usually bundled with a brand, and the AI data buyers we list say they strip out names and personal details: Polyshares through a third-party partner, and SimpleClosure on every dataset before licensing. Do not read their prices as a value for an email or Slack archive.11,12
23andMe (Chapter 11, 2025): TTAM Research Institute paid $305M for substantially all assets, beating Regeneron's $256M. Bed Bath & Beyond (2023): Overstock won IP and digital assets, including business data, for $21.5M. Zulily (ABC, 2024): Beyond paid $4.5M plus costs for the brand, domains and a customer database. RadioShack (2015): General Wireless paid $26M for an IP package that originally offered 67M+ addresses and 8.5M emails.13,14,15,16,17
| Fact | Value and source |
|---|---|
| 23andMe sale (consumer data) | TTAM Research Institute bought substantially all of 23andMe's assets for $305M, outbidding Regeneron's $256M; Judge Brian C. Walsh approved the sale in 2025 |
| Bed Bath & Beyond digital assets (2023) | Overstock won Bed Bath & Beyond's IP and digital assets, including internet properties and business data, for $21.5M |
| Zulily brand and customer database sale | Beyond paid $4.5M plus related costs for Zulily's IP and brand assets: website and domains, trademarks, a customer database, social media accounts and website software |
| RadioShack customer data (2015) | General Wireless paid $26M for RadioShack's IP package; the data originally offered included 67M+ physical addresses and 8.5M email addresses |
What the ledger shows
Three patterns in the precedents
First, courts have mostly seen consumer data, and the scrutiny followed it: RadioShack's buyer ended up with emails only from customers who had asked for product information in the last two years. Second, the internal-record market runs mostly outside court, through wind-down channels. Third, the one court case for internal records, Spirit, turned on how personal details would be stripped out, not only on price.18,9,19
We found no reported sale of an email or Slack archive to an AI buyer through an assignment for the benefit of creditors or a Chapter 7 case so far. Zulily's ABC sold a brand and customer database, not internal communications. An estate holding an email or Slack archive is early, and the match quiz shows which buyers we work with take a company in that position.20,15
FAQ
Questions, answered with sources
SimpleClosure reports 150+ data deals for wound-down startups, typically $10K-$100K each.9
Every business is different, so this one is best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over it with you before anything is signed.
Before you sign
Questions to talk through with your buyer
Every business is different, so these are best talked through with the buyer you're working with. Their team goes over them with you before anything is signed.
Questions for this kind of business
- Who owns this data: the company, an estate, or someone else?
- Is a consumer privacy ombudsman, court approval, or notice and a hearing needed?
Questions for any buyer
- Is the license exclusive, and for how long?
- Can you sublicense the data, and to whom?
- Which AI labs will receive it, and will you tell us?
- How long do you keep it, and how is it deleted?
- What is your liability cap, and who indemnifies whom?
- Will the contract ban re-identification of people in the data?
- Who removes personal data, by what method, and do we approve it first?