As far as I know they decided to focus on institutional clients.
Yeah, not sure exactly why they agreed to the buyout, but I’m guessing they received a good enough offer. I mean, if I started up a business, then 5 or so years later someone came along with a very nice offer to buy up the company, I wouldn’t exactly say no myself. 
I hadn’t traded on my live account since about january or so, well before they buyout. I withdrew a bunch of money to cover some unexpected expenses, and just started trading with the measly $320 I had left in my account last week. So far, I’m up $120, and haven’t noticed anything sketchy with the new broker. No random drops in connection, no extended periods of disconnection, etc. So far, so good IMO.
Just waiting to get my account up to $1500, and withdraw $500. If all goes smoothly, then I guess these new owners are trustworthy.