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Univision buys bankrupt Gawker following Hulk Hogan trial

Posted at 6:00 PM, Aug 16, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-16 19:00:16-04

NEW YORK (AP) — Spanish-language broadcaster Univision has bought Gawker Media in an auction for $135 million.

That's according to a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified because the deal had not been formally announced.

The online gossip and news publisher was put on the block in the aftermath of a $140 million judgment against it in the Hulk Hogan invasion-of-privacy case. That forced the 14-year-old company to file for bankruptcy protection.

Hogan, a former professional wrestler whose real name is Terry Bollea, sued over a tape posted by Gawker that showed him having sex with a friend's wife.

The case gained additional notoriety when it was revealed Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel secretly bankrolled Hogan's suit. Thiel was outed as gay by a Gawker-owned website in 2007.