IP SALE MANAGEMENT FOR TRUSTEES AND RECEIVERS
Hilco Streambank helps trustees and receivers manage their intellectual property (IP) sales with industry-leading expertise, diligence, and creativity. Intangible assets are often overlooked on a balance sheet but provide a meaningful recovery to the estate in chapter 7 cases. Assets we help our clients manage include:
- Trademarks, Trade Names and Service Marks
- Royalty Streams
- Patents
- Proprietary Software
- Customer Data
- License Agreements
- IPv4 Addresses
- Domain Names
- Media Archives
- Litigation Claims and Judgements
- Spectrum Licenses
- Copyrights
We are experts in conducting credible, time-bound processes for the sale of assets, having served chapter 7 trustees and receivers throughout the country. We understand the urgency and intricacies of selling intellectual property.
Our team includes former restructuring lawyers well-familiar with the bankruptcy process. We are effective intermediaries between interested parties and trustees, who are often faced with an estate with little funding and a need to quickly triage or wind down various parts of the business.
IP Monetization Services for Chapter 7 Trustees
Chapter 7 trustees are often asked to perform detective work to determine what assets (if any) should be sold or liquidated for the benefit of the estate. We help by turning over every stone to find intangible assets and turning them into cash.
Attractive Fee Structures
Recognizing that chapter 7 trustees operate on shoestring budgets, we offer attractive incentive compatible structures.
Help Selling IP in Bankruptcy
We are familiar with the pace of the bankruptcy process, and launch and conclude our sale processes swiftly.
Process Structure
We have worked within the parameters of hundreds of court-approved bid procedures to provide guidance on which are likely to maximize the value of the assets at hand.
Work Closely with Potential Buyers
Our restructuring and process expertise lets us work closely with potential IP buyers. This helps them feel comfortable with the bankruptcy process and empowered to participate.
Work with Consumer Privacy Ombudsmen
Our team has successfully worked with many consumer privacy ombudsmen who have been appointed to make recommendations with respect to the sale of personally-identifiable information.
Bid Qualification and Documentation
We develop bid qualification requirements and work with chapter 7 trustees to propose appropriate and manageable documentation appropriate for the transaction size.
Structuring and Conducting the Auction
We maximize the value of our clients’ assets by structuring the auction ourselves and overseeing the event.
Declaration in Support of Sale
We provide a declaration in support of the sale and, if needed, will testify at the sale hearing.
Manage Delivery of Closing Deliverables
Our team assists chapter 7 trustees in delivering the closing deliverables to the buyer.
Recovering Millions Through Our Sale Processes
Hilco Streambank has recovered millions of dollars on behalf of chapter 7 estates. Recent examples of trustees we’ve helped accomplish this include:
Johnson Publishing Company: $30M Recovered
Hilco Streambank ran 3 separate sale processes on behalf of the chapter 7 estate of Johnson Publishing Company, the former publisher of Ebony and Jet magazines. We conducted an auction for the estate’s historic photography and media archive that opened with a bid of $7.5 million, and ultimately assisted the chapter 7 trustee in closing a $30 million sale.
We subsequently ran a sale process for the estate’s interest in the Fashion Fair beauty brand and, following a spirited auction, closed a sale for $1.85 million for the brand.
The chapter 7 trustee then called upon us to monetize the estate’s interest under a license agreement for use of the iconic Ebony name in personal care, cosmetics and fashion. We brought in $1 million to the estate for this asset.
Tavern on the Green: $1.3M Recovered
The estate held the right to appeal a court ruling which stripped it of its trademark rights, but no funds to pursue it. We helped the trustee negotiate a shared use of the trademark and then promptly sold the settlement for $1.3 million.
Kidville: $150K Recovered (6x Opening Bid)
We marketed the brand and content assets of Kidville, the one-stop-shop for families and schools to throw parties for children. We closed on a purchase price of $150,000 - six times the opening bid – after auction.