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[LiK]

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-esq/gawker-media-files-chapter-11-901536

Gawker Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a Florida judge issued a $140 million final judgment in favor of Hulk Hogan in the invasion-of-privacy lawsuit over the posting of a sex tape.

The online news organization founded in 2003 by Nick Denton which now includes other sites like Deadpin, Jezebel and Kotaku, reports that it has less than $100 million in assets.

More to come.

http://www.recode.net/2016/6/10/11903764/gawker-bankruptcy-chapter-11-sale-ziff-davis

Peter Thiel is getting closer to his goal: Gawker Media has filed for bankruptcy protection and says it eventually plans to find a new owner for the company.

Gawker and owner Nick Denton are making the Chapter 11 filing today, in order to avoid paying Thiel and Hulk Hogan the $140 million judgment they won in Hogan’s privacy trial earlier this year.

Gawker has told it employees it still plans to fight the Thiel/Hogan case and to operate its publishing business while it does so. But it is also now formally entertaining offers to buy the company and says it has a firm bid from publisher Ziff Davis to buy the entire operation for less than $100 million.

Gawker and its banker Mark Patricof assume that the company will eventually see higher bids while it is in bankruptcy protection. Last year, in advance of the Hogan trial, Denton figured his company was worth something in the $250 million to $300 million range.

But in any case the company won’t trade hands until Gawker either beats back Thiel and Hogan or it finishes a court-approved restructuring. Because no one wants to buy an ongoing lawsuit from Peter Thiel.

Ziff Davis itself is a company that has gone through the Chapter 11 process. The company was once a dominant force in the trade and hobbyist magazine business, but its fortunes declined along with the print industry, and it filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008.

Ziff Davis now operates a tech-centric stable of digital titles, including IGN, AskMen and PCMag, that it says reaches more than 100 million readers a month; the company is run by former Time Inc. exec Vivek Shah.

 

[Osiris]

Hulk Smash!

 

[ElfArmy177]

Feel sorry for the people who work there...

 

[Spring Drive]

Sic transit gloria mundi.

 

[CharminUltra]

Whaaaaat

 

[Team Alucard]

 

[TheFuzz]

Whatcha gonna do, Brother!?

 

[Speevy]

When it comes crashing down and it hurts inside

 

[Dennis]

Good.

Gawker was a mistake, nothing but trash.

 

[The Flash]

 

[BreezyLimbo]

So what does this mean for gawker

 

[Deaf Spacker]

I'm not surprised.

 

[Sulik2]

Hopefully Kotaku writers land in good spots, Kotaku had really turned around in the last few years, shame it will blow up now.

 

[chadskin]

Hope Kotaku will come out of this alive. :/

 

[BlueTsunami]

Been on a buzzfeed reactions binge recently. Those poor millenials.

 

[TsunamiOfSwagger]

So what does this mean for gawker

 

[Aureon]

Hopefully they can sell off io9, kotaku etc instead of closing them down.
Gawker itself needs to go, though.

 

[CDX]

Will the court now say that the Gawker owned websites like Kotaku and others have to be sold off now?

 

[kitschykitty]

FYI Chapter 11 is the restructuring debt one, not the liquidation one

 

[Amory]

well i hope deadspin survives. because deadspin is great.

 

[Tagyhag]

Deserved, I feel bad for other employees not directly involved but such a shitty site will get bit back eventually.

 

[mdubs]

Looks like I'm going to lose my kinja site over this

 

[thefro]

Hope Kotaku & Lifehacker end up okay.

 

[LongDongJunon]

History's favorite monster

 

[OdysseusVA]

 

[Violence Jack]

I came here hoping someone would post this.

 

[Hot Coldman]

Hopefully Kotaku writers land in good spots, Kotaku had really turned around in the last few years, shame it will blow up now.

Yep. Really got its shit together. They need to end up somewhere else than Ziff fucking Davis because we've seen how that's gone before.

 

[BronsonLee]

Hulk/Thiel won. This was their endgame.

They never wanted the money, they wanted Gawker dead.

 

[ANDS]

Feel sorry for every other site except Gawker. They played fast and loose with what was news too much. I don't care about Hogan, but the Geithner bit did it for me.

 

[CrunchyFrog]

Sic transit gloria mundi.

I didn't know Gloria was sick?

 

[Kid Ska]

Damn, Hulkamania really ran wild over Gawker.

 

[JTripper]

Hulkamania ran wild on Gawker, brother.

edit: ^ God fucking dammit

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

Klepek just bought a house. :|

 

[Toxi]

Hope Kotaku will come out of this alive. :/

Especially the Press Sneak Fuck.

 

[Anion]

Jalopnik pls be okay

 

[Scarecrow]

time to watch Suburban Commando

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

So we lost Joystiq and now we're going to lose Kotaku? For fuck's sake.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Holy shit. Someone will buy them out.

 

[LyleLanley]

I'm conflicted, Gawker Media has done a lot of bullshit in the past but it's not all awful, I really like Deadspin and Hulk is a terrible person.

 

[TangoAlphaLima]

FYI, Chapter 11 bankruptcy is for reorganization. Many companies have emerged from it. Gawker could still survive long term.

 

[McDougles]

May the few good writers, personalities and investigative journalists land on their feet at better places.

 

[DrFunk]

Right when Patrick Klepek buys a house...hope everything works out :/

 

[Hot Coldman]

Klepek just bought a house. :|

Klepek's wife has a much healthier line of work, IIRC from his streams in the past. He's like the number one or two guy in the games press so he'll turn out OK.

 

[CharminUltra]

Yeah, I'm seriously conflicted. On the on hand, I hate it when people lose their jobs (I don't even know if they've announced layoffs).

On the other hand, fuck Gawker.

 

[HvySky]

Right when Patrick Klepek buys a house...hope everything works out :/

Same here, but I'm sure he'll land on his feet.

Still, chapter 11. Could be way worse than that, not that this is good or anything.

 

[ezekial45]

FYI Chapter 11 is the restructuring debt one, not the liquidation one

Yep. They'll come back, but this still sucks for them, obviously.

 

[Azoor]

FYI, Chapter 11 bankruptcy is for reorganization. Many companies have emerged from it. Gawker could still survive long term.

I hope Kotaku and Gizmondo survive at the very least.

 

[smokeymicpot]

Ziff Davis is looking to buy them.

Gawker has told it employees it still plans to fight the Thiel/Hogan case and to operate its publishing business while it does so. But it is also now formally entertaining offers to buy the company and says it has a firm bid from publisher Ziff Davis to buy the entire operation for less than $100 million.

http://www.recode.net/2016/6/10/11903764/gawker-bankruptcy-chapter-11-sale-ziff-davis

 

[Abounder]

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Tabloid blogs take heed

 

[MiniBossBattle]

Where will Millennials get their opinions now?