Gawker Media said in response to a report that it is for sale that everyone needs to “take a breath.”
Silicon Valley Billionaire and Facebook board member Peter Thiel admitted yesterday that he was secretly funding Hulk Hogan‘s lawsuit in an attempt to cripple Gawker. This morning, the New York Post reported that Gawker founder Nick Denton has begun soliciting bids for the company because the Thiel-funded trial is leaving him strapped for cash.
“Everyone take a breath. We’ve had bankers engaged for quite some time given the need for contingency planning around Facebook board member Peter Thiel’s revenge campaign,” Gawker Media said in the statement.
The statement continues: “We recently engaged [Houlihan Lokey media banker] Mark Patricof to advise us and that seems to have stirred up some excitement, when the fact is that nothing is new.”
Gawker attempted to out Thiel as gay years ago, before he came out on his own.
A Florida judge denied the company a new trial in the Thiel-financed Hogan sex tape case on Wednesday, which could result in the massive $140 million payout that was awarded to Hogan actually standing.
Gawker has repeatedly said it plans to win on appeal.
The Post reports that an interested party values Gawker between $50 million and $70 million. Denton owns a 68 percent stake in the company. Earlier this year, Denton sold an undisclosed minority stake to Columbus Nova Technology Partners in an attempt to raise cash for the Hogan trial, according to The Wall Street Journal.