Univision, the most popular Spanish language TV network in the US, will take over Gawker Media for $135 million, outbidding digital publisher Ziff Davis at Gawker’s bankruptcy auction on Tuesday, Aug. 16.
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On Tuesday, Gawker Media founder Nick Denton announced in a statement that his company will be sold to Univision, the Spanish-language broadcaster. Mr. Denton stated that they “could not have picked an acquirer more devoted to vibrate journalism” and that he was happy his employees would now be removed from the legal and financial turmoil caused to Bollea and Thiel’s lawsuit. Earlier this month, Denton filed for personal bankruptcy protection.
Despite the media hype that is usually associated with Gawker, however, Univision’s sole bid shows that interest in the auction was otherwise limited. But it makes sense for Univision – and might be Gawker’s best outcome, too.
Past year the company bought out Disney’s shares in Fusion, a television network aimed at a millennial, digitally engaged audience.
It fended off competition from media company Ziff Davis, which had made an initial offer of $90m and was the only other bidder.
Gawker also includes women’s website Jezebel, sports site Deadspin and automobile site Jalopnik. Politico is reporting that Univision agreed to hold on “at least 95 percent of Gawker’s current staff” as well as take over the company’s leases in NY and Budapest.
Univision is the biggest Hispanic media company in the U.S. Why in the world does it want Gawker Media, the aggressively impudent digital publisher that sold itself in a bankruptcy auction?
Recode’s Peter Kafka reported yesterday that Univision’s final and successful offer shall “encompass all seven of Gawker Media’s sites, including Gawker.com”, but following his report, Gawker.com staffers were told that Univision has not yet decided whether the company will take Gawker Media’s namesake website under its wing.
Ziff Davis stood to collect a $2.47 million breakup fee as part of its June agreement with Gawker Media.
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The sale represents yet another incursion by Univision into predominantly English-speaking markets, as earlier this year the company purchased the satirical site The Onion, as well as The Root, a site aimed at a predominantly African-American audience. Our investigation reveals that Denton is as much a creature of the tech industry as he is a critic – and that Gawker’s slippery but legal tactics may, in the end, help Denton survive Thiel’s crusade with funds to spare.
