Its eagerness to dish obscene gossip was often condemned, but it was also one of the few early digital publishers to build a profitable independent business.Īlong with its flagship Gawker site, Gawker Media also publishes consumer websites Gizmodo, Lifehacker, Kotaku, Jalopnik, Deadspin, and Jezebel.ĭenton said in a prepared statement that he was "encouraged" by the agreement from Ziff Davis, which itself has a long and rocky history. Gawker and Denton were influential forces in the development of online media, developing a direct, conversational style that dispensed with many journalistic conventions and was widely imitated. The company posted revenues of $49.9 million in 2015, according to the documents, and has grown at a compound annual rate of 24 per cent over the past three years. The lawsuit states that Denton could be forced to file for personal bankruptcy if the lawsuits against him personally are allowed to proceed.ĭenton owns about 30 per cent of Gawker, according to the lawsuit. Gawker filed a separate lawsuit in bankruptcy court on Friday asking the judge to extend the bankruptcy court protections to Denton, Daulerio and other former and current Gawker employees. Gawker objected to having Hogan, whose real name is Terry Bollea, hold the collateral and proposed a different arrangement, which the judge rejected. The judge agreed to postpone payment of the $140 million judgment while Gawker pursued its appeal, but required the defendants to put up their shares of the company as collateral to be held by Hogan's lawyers. Petersburg, Florida on Friday, Gawker said it had just $5.3 million in cash on hand and faced massive legal bills. Gawker has vowed to appeal the verdict, and legal experts believe the company has a good chance of eventually having the award thrown out or reduced. The jury then added another $25 million in punitive damages. In March, a six-person jury awarded $60 million to Hogan for emotional distress and $55 million for economic damages. Hogan's lawsuit accused Gawker, Denton, and former Gawker editor AJ Daulerio of violating his privacy by publishing a one minute, 41-second edited video clip featuring Hogan having sex with the wife of his then-best friend. "Our sites will thrive - under new ownership - and we'll win in court." "Even with his billions, Thiel will not silence our writers," Gawker founder and Chief Executive Nick Denton said on Twitter. Media company Ziff Davis LLC has entered an agreement to buy Gawker's assets for a little less than $100 million, according to people familiar with the matter, but that may be only the initial bid in a court-supervised auction likely to take place at the end of July. Gawker vowed to continue operating its seven websites during the bankruptcy process. media circles over the prospect of wealthy individuals using the courts to muzzle the press. Thiel's involvement, which stemmed from his ire over Gawker's writings about him and his friends in Silicon Valley, raised alarm bells in U.S. The move followed revelations that Hogan's lawsuit, along with several others against Gawker, were being bankrolled by billionaire investor Peter Thiel, an early backer of Facebook and a co-founder of PayPal. The decision came after a $140 million court judgment against it in a lawsuit brought by former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over a sex tape. Gawker founder Nick Denton says of the deal, "We are encouraged by the agreement with Ziff Davis, one of the most rigorously managed and profitable companies in digital media.Gawker Media LLC, an online publishing pioneer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and put itself up for sale on Friday. The announcement, made after news of Gawker's bankruptcy filing emerged, confirms an earlier report by Recode. Gawker Media Group says it has reached an agreement "to sell its seven media brands and other assets to Ziff Davis, a global digital media company which operates in the technology, gaming and lifestyle categories and is a subsidiary of j2 Global, Inc." But reports out Friday also said Gawker's founder, Nick Denton, was trying to find a buyer for the company. In addition to its eponymous website, Gawker operates several other popular sites, including Deadspin, Jezebel and Gizmodo. Gawker Media, the gossip and news company that lost a high-profile court case in which it was ordered to pay $140 million over a violation of Hulk Hogan's privacy, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from its creditors. Nick Denton, seen here during his legal battle with Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections for Gawker Media, the company he founded 13 years ago.
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