Following Hulk Hogan lawsuit, Gawker seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy status
Gawker Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the Southern District of New York.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the website has a $7.66 million loan from Silicon Valley Bank, and a credit agreement with VC Partners for $15 million. In the petition filed Friday, the company whose sites include Gawker, Deadspin, Jezebel and Kotaku reported that it has less than $100 million in assets.
The filing follows a $140 million invasion of privacy judgment against Gawker, obtained by wrestler Hulk Hogan after the site posted a sex tape of him. Gawker plans to restructure itself and appeal the Hogan judgement, and it has hired an investment bank for advice on a possible sale. The company has already announced an asset purchase agreement for seven of its media brands to the digital media company Ziff Davis, according to Recode.
The Hogan lawsuit was financed by Peter Thiel, a former lawyer and Silicon Valley entrepreneur. In May he told the New York Times Deal Book blog that he’s also financed two current defamation cases against Gawker, describing the financing as “one of my greater philanthropic things that I’ve done.”
The website, founded in 2003 by Nick Denton, also faces a copyright lawsuit brought by the Daily Mail’s parent company DMG Media, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
