When you're in an acquisition process, the acquirer will often prey on your weaknesses to get a better deal. If Employer.com had already been in talks prior to the shutdown, then they already knew the financial condition, they may have surprised Bench with a dramatic decrease in the purchase price at the 11th hour in an effort to get a better deal knowing Bench's only other alternative would be to shut down. Maybe Bench called their bluff, called off the deal and shut down. (The only rational reason to do that would be if they think they could successfully sue the acquirer or get the original deal back on the table)
Pure speculation, but typically acquisitions take many months to come together. Even a firesale acquisition doesn't happen in a week.