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Univision is going to buy Gawker Media | Univision is going to buy Gawker Media |
(35 minutes later) | |
Univision has won the auction to buy Gawker Media. | Univision has won the auction to buy Gawker Media. |
The predominantly Spanish-speaking news channel offered $135 million to buy the bankrupt news website and has outbid Ziff Davis’ offer of $90 million, according to reports. | |
Gawker Media filed for bankruptcy in June after reality television star Hulk Hogan and Peter Thiel won $140 million in an alleged case of privacy invasion. | |
The US bankruptcy court is required to sign off on the deal, which could end Gawker's 14-year run as an independent company. | |
In the meantime, Gawker will appeal its court case. | |
Ziff Davis, the publisher of PCMag and other technology-focused outlets, was the only other bidder. | |
Nick Denton, who founded the company in 2002, said last year that Gawker was worth at least $250 million. | Nick Denton, who founded the company in 2002, said last year that Gawker was worth at least $250 million. |
Univision has been expanding its reach among a younger readership as it acquired The Onion and The Root, a publication aimed at African Americans. | |
Earlier this year it acquired a full stake in Fusion, a network aimed at millennials, which it launched in partnership with Disney in 2013. | |
Mr Denton sold a minority stake in the company in January, but otherwise maintained independent ownership. | |
The media outlet struggled in several legal battles over the years, including arguing that an article about a sex tape featuring Hulk Hogan was protected under the First Amendment. | |
It was later discovered that PayPal founder Peter Thiel secretly funded the wrestler's lawsuit in an attempt to bankrupt Gawker. | |
Mr Thiel was outed as gay by a 2007 Gawker article. | |
The billionaire wrote in a New York Times op-ed this week that he was proud of his actions, but he has alarmed journalists who fear other billionaires could fund legal battles to silence the media outlets they dislike. |
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