Process
Selling data in a 363 sale: what Spirit's case shows
In a 363 sale today, the internal record of the company can be offered as a separate lot. Before 2026, these court-run sales dealt in aircraft, leases, brands and customer lists.
Spirit Airlines broke that pattern by running its email, Teams and file stores through the same sale machinery.
01
From bidding motion to proposed order
- 1
Bidding procedures
Procedures motion 2026-05-27 (Dkt. 1117); order signed 2026-06-22 (Dkt. 1213).
- 2
Auction
Held online on 2026-08-14 for roughly 2.5 hours, managed by Davis Polk and PJT Partners.
- 3
Proposed sale order
Filed 2026-08-17 (Dkt. 1469) with no privacy conditions, re-identification ban or reporting duty.
- 4
Objections and review
Six objections, an ombudsman's report and a narrowed package before the 2026-11-06 hearing.
The privacy terms were argued after the auction instead of before it. That is the first thing to change if you run your own.
02
Bidders priced the scrubbing method
Google started at $5.0M and closed at $10.0M. Mercor's offers ranged from $5.2M to $10.0M, depending on which party would remove personal details. Later, micro1 put up $12.5M with its own scrubbing. See de-identification in data sales.
03
What to settle before the auction
- Which datasets are in the lot, and which are excluded up front
- Who strips personal details and how the work is certified
- A re-identification ban and onward-transfer limits in the form of order
- Whether a consumer privacy ombudsman is likely, and the timetable for one
- Notice to unions, key vendors and partners whose files may be in the archive
- Keeping the systems live through closing
FAQ
Questions, answered
Can company data be sold in a 363 sale?
Yes, Spirit Airlines, with the judge due to rule on 2026-11-06.
Does a 363 data sale need a privacy ombudsman?
It can, where personally identifiable information is involved. Spirit's court approved one. Ask your counsel whether your case needs one.
Why did Spirit's bids differ so much?
Bidders priced in who would strip personal details. Mercor's offers ranged from $5.2M to $10.0M on that basis alone.
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Sources
Every number on this page links back to one of these.
- 1Chapter11Cases (Stretto): docket report on the Spirit Airlines de-identified data salechapter11cases.com
- 2The Next Web: ombudsman backs Google's purchase of Spirit Airlines datathenextweb.com
- 3Skift: the list of objections to Spirit's data sale keeps growing (12 Oct 2026)skift.com
- 4Fortune: micro1 tries to beat Google's bid for Spirit Airlines data (14 Sep 2026)fortune.com
- 511 U.S.C. § 363: use, sale or lease of property (Cornell LII)law.cornell.edu
- 611 U.S.C. § 332: consumer privacy ombudsman (Cornell LII)law.cornell.edu
- 7U.S. Courts: Chapter 11 bankruptcy basicsuscourts.gov
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