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Selling company data from insolvency proceedings

The debtor's email archives, ERP, CRM and ticket data are realisable estate assets. We turn them into additional proceeds: we describe the data, find buyers, anonymise under the GDPR and license the datasets to AI companies.

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At a glance

  • Company data are realisable estate assets (§ 35 InsO), the business books expressly so (§ 36(2) no. 1 InsO).
  • For the datasets of mid-sized companies, buyers usually pay six-figure sums.
  • What is sold is an anonymised copy; the originals are kept for the retention obligations.
  • No upfront costs: the fee is only agreed once a buyer has been found.

Which company data from insolvency proceedings can be sold?

All systems in which the company's work has been recorded: email and team chat, ERP and accounting, CRM, tickets, documents, and code and CAD.

Under German law, the insolvency estate comprises all of the debtor's assets (§ 35(1) InsO).[1] For the business books, § 36(2) no. 1 InsO expressly states that they are included.[2] Email archives, ERP and CRM records and ticket systems arose in the course of business and can be realised like machinery or receivables. In practice, however, they rarely appear in realisations.

Insolvency estate under § 35 InsO: company data are part of it
  • Machinery and equipment
  • Inventory
  • Receivables
  • Real estate
  • Brands and IP rights
Company dataoften overlooked
  • Email archives
  • ERP and accounting
  • CRM and sales
  • Tickets and support
  • Documents and wikis
  • Code and CAD

What does data realisation bring the estate?

For mid-sized datasets usually a six-figure sum, for large companies more.

Data buyers now publish their prices. Replay quotes US$100,000 to US$1 million for companies with 50 to 250 employees,[3] and Handshake AI calculates US$383,000 to US$897,000 for 100 employees and ten years of operations.[4] Which factors drive the price and which deals have taken place is covered in the article What is company data worth?

How does the sale of the datasets work?

In four steps. No data leave the proceedings until a buyer has been found.

  1. 1

    Initial call and estimate

    You answer nine questions on industry, software, data volume and history, or talk to us directly. We do not need access to the data for this and give you a first estimate.

  2. 2

    Data sheet and buyer search

    We describe the dataset without names, agree the data sheet with you and approach vetted buyers. Company and proceedings remain confidential.

  3. 3

    Fee and anonymisation

    As soon as a buyer has been found, we agree a success-based fee. Under a data processing agreement we anonymise the dataset locally at the seller; the buyer receives a sample under NDA.

  4. 4

    Licence and handover

    You approve the buyer, we hand over the anonymised data and then delete the mapping.

What needs to be considered legally?

The administrator is responsible for the data, personal content is anonymised before the handover, and the retention obligations remain in place.

  • On the opening of proceedings, the power of disposal passes to the administrator (§ 80(1) InsO), and with it the responsibility under data protection law.[5]
  • Anonymised data are outside the scope of the GDPR (Recital 26).[6] For pseudonymised data, according to the CJEU it depends on whether the recipient can identify individuals with reasonable effort.[7]
  • Data that the debtor only processed on behalf of third parties may be subject to segregation (OLG Düsseldorf, I-6 U 241/11).[8]
  • The originals remain subject to the retention periods of § 257 HGB; what is licensed is an anonymised copy.[9]

The legal position in detail is set out in the article Data in German insolvency proceedings.

Frequently asked questions

Can the insolvency administrator sell company data?

Yes. Company data belong to the debtor's assets and therefore to the insolvency estate (§ 35 InsO), the business books expressly so (§ 36(2) no. 1 InsO). Personal content is anonymised before the handover; what is then sold or licensed is the anonymised dataset.

How much does data realisation bring in insolvency proceedings?

For the datasets of mid-sized companies, buyers usually quote six-figure sums: US$100,000 to US$1 million for 50 to 250 employees, and US$383,000 to US$897,000 for 100 employees and ten years of operations. The actual value depends on volume, history, systems and exclusivity.

Who buys datasets from insolvencies?

AI labs, specialised data vendors and providers of training environments. They train AI agents on real workflows and need cases from email, ERP, CRM and ticket systems for this.

What does the realisation cost the estate?

Nothing upfront. The inventory, data sheet and buyer search are free of charge. Once a buyer has been found, we agree a success-based fee.

Do we have to hand over data for this?

Only once a buyer has been found. The data sheet is based on a questionnaire without access to data. The anonymisation runs under a data processing agreement as local data processing at the seller, i.e. in the infrastructure of the proceedings.

Sources

  1. [1]Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany): “§ 35 InsO, definition of the insolvency estate”
  2. [2]Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany): “§ 36 InsO, assets exempt from attachment”
  3. [3]Replay: “Value my data”, accessed 20 October 2026
  4. [4]Handshake AI: “Data Partnerships”, accessed 20 October 2026
  5. [5]Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany): “§ 80 InsO, transfer of the right to manage and dispose”
  6. [6]EUR-Lex: “Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (General Data Protection Regulation)”
  7. [7]beck-aktuell: “CJEU, judgment of 4 September 2025, C-413/23 P (EDPS v SRB): pseudonymised data passed to third parties (in German)”, 5 September 2025
  8. [8]GÖRG: “Customer data in insolvency, on OLG Düsseldorf, judgment of 27 September 2012, I-6 U 241/11 (in German)”, 8 August 2013
  9. [9]Federal Ministry of Justice (Germany): “§ 257 HGB, retention of records”
  10. [10]Ooak Data: “Partner with us”, accessed 20 October 2026

This overview is no substitute for legal advice in the individual case.

What is your dataset worth?

Nine questions, no data needed, no upfront costs. You receive a first estimate.

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