Gawker may have filed for bankruptcy nearly two years ago, but the saga continues. The latest update involves the now-defunct media company’s liquidation sale. It had been rumored for over a year that Peter Thiel–who helped bankroll Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against the website–would try to buy the Gawker domain. That no longer seems to be the case.
The Wall Street Journal reports that the billionaire investor has reached an agreement with the adviser liquidating Gawker Media LLC. With this pact, Thiel is no longer bidding on the site and is “[providing] the eventual buyer a legal release for articles in the Gawker archive.”
Gawker has been trying to stop Thiel from buying the domain ever since his intentions became known. The media company’s lawyers argued that by buying the site’s assets, he was attempting to “destroy the business forever.” If this new agreement weren’t made, a lengthy court battle would have ensued–which would have included legal discovery, making it possible for Gawker’s lawyers to dig deep into Thiel’s involvement with the court case.
Now that will no longer happen. But the question still remains: Who will be the Gawker buyer?
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