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The company has fielded interest from a few parties but the
sales process is in the early stages, one of the sources said,
asking not to be named because the matter is confidential. It
may also explore a potential restructuring, the source added.
The New York Post first reported the sale effort.
Gawker has hired investment bank Houlihan Lokey Inc <HLI.N> to
advise it, the company said in a statement on Thursday.
Billionaire PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel, an early investor in
Facebook, is helping Hulk Hogan bankroll a lawsuit against
Gawker Media, he told the New York Times in an article published
on Thursday.
"We’ve had bankers engaged for quite some time given the need
for contingency planning around Facebook board member Peter
Thiel's revenge campaign — that’s how the Columbus Nova
investment was arranged," Gawker said.
Investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners took a
minority stake in Gawker Media earlier this year.
Gawker also confirmed it had hired Houlihan Lokey media banker
Mark Patricof and said "that seems to have stirred up some
excitement, when the fact is that nothing is new."
Gawker, founded by Nick Denton, owns popular blogs such as the
tech-focused Gizmodo, Jezebel, which covers women's rights, and
Kotaku, a video game blog. Denton owns the majority of the
company.
A six-person jury in March awarded $60 million to Hogan, whose
real name is Terry Bollea, for emotional distress and $55
million for economic damages. The jury then slapped another $25
million in punitive damages on the company and Denton.
Hogan sued the website for posting a video clip in 2012
featuring him having sex with the wife of his then-best friend,
radio shock jock Bubba the Love Sponge.
Hogan testified that he did not know their consensual tryst was
being recorded when it occurred nearly a decade ago.
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