Following this week’s sale to Univision Communications, Gawker has announced the site will shut down next week after 14 years.
As we noted earlier this week, an auction took place Tuesday to sell Gawker Media following a civil court case loss to Hulk Hogan. The buyer 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 following statement has been posted to the Gawker website:
After nearly fourteen years of operation, Gawker.com will be shutting down next week. The decision to close Gawker comes days after Univision successfully bid $135 million for Gawker Media’s six other websites, and four months after the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel revealed his clandestine legal campaign against the company.
Nick Denton, the company’s outgoing CEO, informed current staffers of the site’s fate on Thursday afternoon, just hours before a bankruptcy court in Manhattan will decide whether to approve Univision’s bid for Gawker Media’s other assets. The near-term plans for Gawker.com’s coverage, as well as the site’s archives, have not yet been finalized.
Additionally, Hulk Hogan commented on the site shutting down by posting the following on Twitter:
Like I said"I Slammed another Giant today Brother". HH
— Hulk Hogan (@HulkHogan) August 16, 2016
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.
