According to Recode.net, an auction took place today to sell Gawker Media following Gawker’s civil court case loss to Hulk Hogan. The buyer of Gawker was Spanish-language TV network Univision Communications, and they paid a reported $135 million for Gawker Media’s seven websites, including Gawker.com itself. The deal will not be official until the bankruptcy court signs off on it.
Prior to the auction taking place, the popular belief was that Ziff Davis, which publishes IGN and other entities, was the favorite to purchase Gawker Media, and in that case Gawker founder Nick Denton likely would have remained with Gawker Media as a consultant.
With regards to how the sale of Gawker can affect Hulk Hogan, the money netted from the sale will remain held until Gawker has finished its appeal of the initial civil suit decision in favor of Hogan. Should the initial decision hold up in court, the money will go to Hogan as he was awarded $115 million in compensatory damages and another $25.1 million in punitive damages.
As we reported this past Sunday, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judge Pamela Campbell ruled last Thursday that Hogan is entitled to former Gawker editor A.J. Daulerio’s indemnity rights, as Daulerio is the only person involved in the case who has yet to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Both Gawker and Gawker founder Nick Denton have filed for Chapter 11, which protects them from having their assets seized.
Following the sale of Gawker Media today, Nick Denton issued the following statement:
“Gawker Media Group has agreed this evening to sell our business and popular brands to Univision, one of America’s largest media companies that is rapidly assembling the leading digital media group for millennial and multicultural audiences. I am pleased that our employees are protected and will continue their work under new ownership — disentangled from the legal campaign against the company. We could not have picked an acquirer more devoted to vibrant journalism.”
Nick was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, and lived there until the age of 18, when he decided to pack his flack jacket and move to New York City.
