NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) — In the wake of a $140 million legal judgement in litigation brought against them by former WWE wrestling star Hulk Hogan, Gawker Media filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday.
According to CNBC, Global media company Ziff Davis has agreed to buy Gawker's seven media brands and other assets in a court-supervised bankruptcy sale that may include other bidders.
Led by Nick Denton, Gawker Media is known for tabloid-style journalism and blogs such as Jezebel and Deadspin. The company's bankruptcy filings revealed that they had assets of $50 million to $100 million and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million at the time they filed for chapter 11.
Gawker's bankruptcy filing comes three months after a Florida jury awarded Hulk Hogan with a $115 million judgment in a privacy lawsuit filed by Hulk Hogan, AKA Terry Bollea, after Gawker Media published a video of Hogan having sex with a friend's wife. The verdict was later increased by $25 million in punitive damages.
"The sale and filing are intended to preserve the value of GMG's pioneering digital news business, safeguard the jobs of journalists and other staff, and allow GMG to fund the appeal against the $130 million judgment in the Hulk Hogan case," the company said in a statement. "Gawker Media Group is putting its properties up for sale after a coordinated barrage of lawsuits intended to put the company out of business and deter its writers from offering critical coverage." – Staff Writers
