Univision Buys Gawker Media in Bankruptcy Auction

– Univision is set to be the new owner of Gawker Media. Recode.net reports that the Spanish-language TV network paid $135 million for the company and will be the owner of all seven of the Gawker Media websites. The deal won’t be official until the bankruptcy court signs off.

The sale means that Hulk Hogan’s $140 million judgment against the company for posting snippets of his sex tape with Heather Clem online will largely be satisfied by the deal, should it stand on appeal. Gawker is currently appealing the judgment, which was handed down by a jury earlier this year. Gawker and its CEO and founder Nick Denton both filed for bankruptcy following the judgment.

Denton released a statement about the sale which read, “Gawker Media Group has agreed this evening to sell our business and popular brands to Univision, one of America’s largest media companies that is rapidly assembling the leading digital media group for millennial and multicultural audiences. I am pleased that our employees are protected and will continue their work under new ownership — disentangled from the legal campaign against the company. We could not have picked an acquirer more devoted to vibrant journalism.”