IP Assets for Sale

Answer: When buying assets from financially distressed or insolvent companies it’s good to understand that:

• There is likely to be limited information available due to the context of insolvency, and potential acquirers should take this into account when bidding for the assets.
• No warranties or indemnities will be provided by the seller in the legal documentation.
• Potential acquirers should conduct due diligence before submitting an offer.
• Buying from insolvent companies or in distressed scenarios can offer the opportunity to acquire new technologies, rather than developing them, or expand your customer base and avoiding a big marketing spend.

To learn more, click here for IP Assets sold.

Answer: No, unless otherwise stated, buying IP assets from an insolvent company means that you will be buying them without assuming any liabilities. The acquirer can walk away with the IP and is free to use it how they see fit to generate revenue.

Answer: Buying assets from an insolvent company means that unfortunately no warranties or indemnification can be provided, so buyers should factor this in when making an offer.

Answer: The offer for the IP assets has to be capable of acceptance by an insolvency practitioner, which means it must achieve an acceptable level that justifies transactional costs. In our experience, insolvency practitioners typically prefer clean offers, rather than offers that include deferred or conditional payments. It is a negotiation and so there can be many factors to be considered in reaching an agreed price, but our advice is to put forward your best offer to ensure you are in the best possible position to buy the IP assets. For further price guidance on specific IP asset sales, please call us on UK: +44 (0) 141 353 3011 or US: +1 (858) 848-6911

Answer: We will always provide as much information as possible on IP assets, but it is important to remember that the company’s affairs are likely to be disordered due to the nature of insolvency. It can also depend on the nature of the IP portfolio for sale, eg registered IP, like trade marks and patents, could be more straight forward than proprietary software or technology. The insolvency practitioner is likely to have limited information on the company, although each insolvency case is different. The important thing is to conduct diligence on any available information prior to making an offer.

Please contact David Hood at David.Hood@metispartners.com who can provide further information on our IP asset sales. Alternatively, please call us on either UK: +44 (0) 141 353 3011 or US: +1 (858) 848-6911.

Offers can be submitted via email to David Hood at David.Hood@metispartners.com, or alternatively, a sample offer letter can be provided on request.

Metis Partners is an IP valuation firm, and we do not sell physical assets, but in certain asset sales there may be an opportunity to acquire inventory. For further guidance on specific asset sales, please contact us on UK: +44 (0) 141 353 3011 or US: +1 (858) 848-6911.

Answer: After the signing of legal documents and payment of the consideration, the assets will be transferred to the acquirer. In practice, this could include eg transferring a server, files with software source code, or passwords to domain names. Remember as the new legal owner of the assets you may need to contact the trade mark/patent agents and IP public registers to notify them about the change of ownership.