This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/11/business/media/gawker-bankruptcy-sale.html
The article has changed 5 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Gawker, Filing for Bankruptcy After Hulk Hogan Suit, Is Said to Be for Sale | Gawker, Filing for Bankruptcy After Hulk Hogan Suit, Is Said to Be for Sale |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Gawker Media, under pressure from a $140 million legal judgment in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit by the former wrestler Hulk Hogan, is putting itself up for sale, according to a person briefed on the plan. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday after a judge overseeing the suit against the company entered the full judgment and denied Gawker’s request for a stay under terms the company could meet. | Gawker Media, under pressure from a $140 million legal judgment in an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit by the former wrestler Hulk Hogan, is putting itself up for sale, according to a person briefed on the plan. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Friday after a judge overseeing the suit against the company entered the full judgment and denied Gawker’s request for a stay under terms the company could meet. |
| The company is beginning an auction, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the auction has not been announced. Ziff Davis, a digital media company, has submitted an opening bid of $90 million to $100 million, the person said. | The company is beginning an auction, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the auction has not been announced. Ziff Davis, a digital media company, has submitted an opening bid of $90 million to $100 million, the person said. |
| Such an offer is known as a stalking-horse bid, meant to set a floor in a court-supervised auction. | Such an offer is known as a stalking-horse bid, meant to set a floor in a court-supervised auction. |
| The person said Gawker had filed for bankruptcy to protect jobs and ensure continued operations. Filing for Chapter 11 stays claims from creditors, including court judgments — meaning Gawker would not need to begin paying Hogan, whose name is Terry G. Bollea. It also allows companies more time and more control as they reorganize themselves. | |
| The company’s decision to sell itself came just weeks after it was revealed that the Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel financially supported Mr. Bollea’s lawsuit. The company still plans to appeal the case. | |
| Mr. Bollea sued Gawker Media in 2012 over the publication of a black-and-white sex tape that showed Mr. Bollea having sex with the wife of a friend of his at the time. | Mr. Bollea sued Gawker Media in 2012 over the publication of a black-and-white sex tape that showed Mr. Bollea having sex with the wife of a friend of his at the time. |
| In March, after a two-week trial, a Florida jury awarded $115 million in damages to Mr. Bollea, a figure that exceeded the $100 million he had asked for. A jury later awarded $25 million more in punitive damages, bringing the total to $140 million. | In March, after a two-week trial, a Florida jury awarded $115 million in damages to Mr. Bollea, a figure that exceeded the $100 million he had asked for. A jury later awarded $25 million more in punitive damages, bringing the total to $140 million. |
| In January, Gawker sold a minority stake in the company to the investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners, partly in preparation for the lawsuit by Mr. Bollea. | In January, Gawker sold a minority stake in the company to the investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners, partly in preparation for the lawsuit by Mr. Bollea. |
| Ziff Davis is a once-mighty publisher of computer magazines that struggled with the collapse of the print advertising business and has remade itself as a publisher of tech, gaming and men’s lifestyle websites. Its online properties include IGN, Geek.com and AskMen.com. | Ziff Davis is a once-mighty publisher of computer magazines that struggled with the collapse of the print advertising business and has remade itself as a publisher of tech, gaming and men’s lifestyle websites. Its online properties include IGN, Geek.com and AskMen.com. |
| Ziff Davis traces its origins to the late 1920s, when William B. Ziff began publishing hobbyist magazines devoted to aviation. In the 1950s, it branched out into electronics magazines. When the computer industry began to take off in the 1980s, it plowed into the market, with a stable of publications like PC Magazine and Computer Shopper that were bursting with advertising at the time. | Ziff Davis traces its origins to the late 1920s, when William B. Ziff began publishing hobbyist magazines devoted to aviation. In the 1950s, it branched out into electronics magazines. When the computer industry began to take off in the 1980s, it plowed into the market, with a stable of publications like PC Magazine and Computer Shopper that were bursting with advertising at the time. |
| Ownership of the publisher has changed hands many times since the mid-1990s, when it was sold to Forstmann Little, the private equity firm, for $1.4 billion, and later to the Japanese company SoftBank. Ziff Davis was acquired for $167 million in 2012 by j2Global, an internet services company with an assortment of internet fax, online phone, email marketing and other communications services. | Ownership of the publisher has changed hands many times since the mid-1990s, when it was sold to Forstmann Little, the private equity firm, for $1.4 billion, and later to the Japanese company SoftBank. Ziff Davis was acquired for $167 million in 2012 by j2Global, an internet services company with an assortment of internet fax, online phone, email marketing and other communications services. |