What a wind-down buyer is
A wind-down buyer buys or brokers the data, code and workspace archives of companies that are closing, often alongside a shutdown, restructuring or bankruptcy process.
The same firm may also run the shutdown or the sale process, so the company handling the wind-down can be the one making the offer.
How it pays
Payment is usually a one-time amount per company or per asset, from an outright sale or a license. Where the firm acts as an intermediary it may take a percentage of the proceeds when a deal closes.
Companies compared
Every value below is as published or reported, with its source. "Not published" means we found no figure. Open a profile for the full record.
| Company | What they buy | Price | Deal structure | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hilco Global | Enterprise/corporate data; Productivity, workflow and operational datasets; Code; Docs/wiki; Product data; Customer, usage, transaction and behavioral data[1] | Not published | Valuation and disposition, including brokerage via IP auctions, direct investment and licensing (IP practice generally)[1] | Active[1] |
| SimpleClosure | Code[2]Communications, Documents, Designs, Tickets, Workflows[2]Slack, Google Drive, Email, Notion, Figma[2] | Has facilitated deals in the tens to hundreds of thousands of dollars for unique assets[2]Enterprise asset sales reaching into the millions[3] | License (seller keeps underlying assets) or outright sale[2] | Active (AssetHub expanded September 2026)[4] |
| Sunset | Not published | Reported (Forbes, Apr 2026) as similar to SimpleClosure's prices, which Forbes said typically ran $10,000–$100,000 per company[5] | Not published | Active (reported)[6] |
What to check before you sign
- Whether you are licensing the data or selling it outright.
- Whether the firm itself may acquire the assets and resell or license them later.
- Whether you will learn who the end buyer is.
- Which notices and consents for employee and customer data you are asked to warrant.
- How the firm's fee is calculated and when it is paid.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. Your counsel should review any license before you sign.
Sources
- Intangible Assets - Hilco Global, hilcoglobal.com. Published July 21, 2026. Accessed October 30, 2026. (company statement)
- Sell Your Startup Assets | SimpleClosure AssetHub, simpleclosure.com. Accessed October 30, 2026. (company statement)
- What Are Your Company’s Assets Worth? | SimpleClosure, simpleclosure.com. Published September 3, 2026. Accessed October 30, 2026. (company statement)
- SimpleClosure AssetHub on Track to Return $10M+ to Venture-Backed Startups (Business Wire release via Barchart/Webull), webull.com. Published September 3, 2026. Accessed October 30, 2026. (company press release)
- Los nuevos datos de entrenamiento de la IA: tus antiguos mensajes de Slack y correos electrónicos del trabajo (Forbes México), forbes.com.mx. Published April 16, 2026. Accessed October 30, 2026. (press)
- AI labs are buying data from dead startups to train their models | MIT Technology Review, technologyreview.com. Published October 13, 2026. Accessed October 30, 2026. (press)
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