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Univision snaps up Gawker's assets at auction for $135 million

Online media company filed for bankruptcy after losing a $140 million judgment to former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan.

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Nick Denton has sold Gawker to Univision for $135 million
Pool, Getty Images

The assets of Gawker have been purchased for $135 million at auction by Spanish language broadcast network Univision, according to a source close to the matter.

Nick Denton, the founder and CEO of the online media company, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, confirmed the sale in a statement.

"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," Denton said. "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."

Gawker filed for bankruptcy protection in June after a Florida jury awarded $140 million to Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, after the former professional wrestler sued Gawker, claiming the site violated his privacy in 2012 when it published a sex tape involving him and the now-estranged wife of a friend.

Denton has blamed Peter Thiel, the Silicon Valley billionaire who has admitted being the bucks behind the defamation lawsuit, for the demise of his company.