Transferring ownership of an iPhone app on the app store

Question

My team and I have an app which we're going to be submitting to the store pretty soon, but we know that we'll be selling the app to another company in the near future. Does anyone have any experience with moving an app's ownership to another account?

Specifically, when I sell an app to another company...

• How do we move the app to their account (what's the mechanism)?
• Can my users still get updates (released by the new owner) without having to re-buy/re-download the app?

Answer 1

Starting June 11, 2013 this has officially become possible. Here's the official note:

Dear developer,

Apps can now be transferred from one developer to another within iTunes Connect, for example after an acquisition or when a distribution deal expires. Transferring the ownership of an app does not affect the app’s availability on the App Store. All ratings and reviews will be transferred and your customers will continue to have access to all available app updates.

To transfer an app, go to the app’s App Summary page in the Manage Your Applications module on iTunes Connect and click Transfer App. Make sure that:

? Your account is active

? You have accepted the most current version of your contracts

? Your app has at least one approved version

? Your app is in the Ready for Sale, Invalid Binary, Rejected, Developer Rejected, or Developer Removed from Sale state

? Any associated In-App Purchases are in the Ready to Submit, Ready for Sale, Rejected, Developer Removed from Sale, or Approved state

? You know the Apple ID of the recipient’s Team Agent and their Team ID.

For more information on app transfer, see the video tutorial on iTunes Connect. To find answers to common questions about app transfer, see the FAQ on iTunes Connect.

Regards, The App Store team