There's a difference between being bankrupt and being worthless. Bankrupt means you can't pay the bills you owe today. You can have enough assets to meet the

There's a difference between being bankrupt and being worthless. Bankrupt means you can't pay the bills you owe today. You can have enough assets to meet the obligations but be unable to turn them into cash fast enough. Another company with cash can buy the company, use their cash on hand to pay the bills, and then sell the assets in less of a panic. If the return on those assets is worth more than the cost to buy the company and cash outlay then buying company makes money.