[pavelai]

Hm... Why not to sell it or give to the community, if there is no intension in further work on the project?

[codingdave]

Nothing in the explanation said no further work on the project was intended. It said the online service will go down, and they are joining a larger company. Could very well be that the acquisition of the codebase is part of the deal, and it will be integrated into the products of the new employer. In short, an acquihire.

[philipallstar]

My first thought was the same. Someone in HN would probably love to buy it and solo run it.