Some discussion of this over at XDA as you might expect:

https://forum.xda-developers.com/t/nova-launcher-sold-to-bra...

Time to find a new launcher, I guess.

or you can just stick with 7.0.57, disable updates (or resign the APK for instance through Mixplorer) and not allow it internet access and you don't need to worry whatever they do to it until it keep working

Lawnchair, Neo launcher or Hyperion are definitely NOT alternatives for power user who use Nova for years by my recent experience

Lawnchair is FOSS. I like it. Does what you would expect, and is inoffensive.

Not quite as feature-rich, though. Once I started using Nova's subgrid and overlaying widgets, for example, it's very hard to go back to a launcher that doesn't allow them.

Ooo! That does sound pretty good. I had no idea you could even do that with it. Damn, now I'm bummed to see Nova go the way it has.

it was certainly lacking few years ago when I used it instead Nova and last drop to move back to Nova was dev censoring apps he doesn't like and consider pirated or supporting piracy, these days main dev left team after another dev was found stealing code from Pixel launcher and implementing it exposing Lawnchair to legal issues

since this Nova announcement I checked Hyperion and Neo launcher and those are pretty much unusable for power user, so currently the best option seems to stick with 7.0.57, disable updates (or resign tge APK for instance through Mixplorer) and not allow it internet access

I've been using Nova since 2014 or so, I don't think I'll switch just because they sold the company and got hired in it.

It hasn’t been good for a while even before the acquisition. I pinned it at version 6 because 7 was a massive downgrade in terms of features, stability, and performance.