Freihandverkauf (private/negotiated sale)

Freihandverkauf refers to the administrator selling insolvency-estate assets outside a public auction — through direct negotiation with a specific buyer. In practice, the large majority of German insolvency asset deals happen this way, not through a formal auction.

There's no special form requirement for the private sale itself, but consent duties apply: for transactions of particular significance — such as selling the entire business or material assets — the administrator must typically inform the creditors' committee (or, if none is appointed, the creditors' assembly) and often obtain its consent (§ 160 InsO). For real estate, notarial execution is required as with any property purchase.

For buyers this means: the private sale is how virtually every insolvency asset deal is executed — direct negotiation with the administrator, no public bidding process with fixed dates. That gives buyers more negotiating room than a classic auction, but demands a credible, prompt offer, since the administrator can be talking to several interested parties in parallel.