Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Jan 21, 2016 1:16:19 GMT -6
www.f4wonline.com/daily-updates/daily-update-full-royal-rumble-card-mcgregor-ufc-197-press-conference-205951
Gawker is selling part of the company to Columbus Nova Technology Partners as part of a fundraising effort in light of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against the company. This is the first time that founder Nick Denton has brought on outside investors.
www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/business/media/gawker-media-sells-minority-stake-to-investment-company.html?_r=1
Gawker Media Plans to Sell Minority Stake to Investment Company
Gawker Media plans to sell a minority stake to the investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners, a move its founder, Nick Denton, said was driven by the need for funding for growth initiatives, and to bolster itself for a continuing lawsuit brought by Terry Bollea, the wrestler known as Hulk Hogan.
Both Gawker and Columbus Nova declined to describe the specifics of the deal, which is subject to shareholder approval. Jason Epstein, the managing director at Columbus Nova, will take a seat on Gawker’s board.
For Gawker, Mr. Denton said, the deal concludes several months of meetings about outside investment. The company had been independent since its founding in the early 2000s, Mr. Denton said, “but digital media is a serious business. This is not a blog collective any more.”
Continue reading the main story
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The company’s websites, including Gawker.com, which recently switched to focus on politics rather than New York and the media world, will remain editorially independent despite the new investment, Mr. Denton said.
The company’s growth, he said, has been built on the fact that “we will write the stories that stodgier media organizations won’t write.”
“Everything gets back to the fact that the digital generation is supremely suspicious,” he said, and demands authenticity.
The money will be used, in part, to fund expansions into video and e-commerce for the flagship Gawker Media sites like Gizmodo, which covers technology, he said, “and then the second factor is girding ourselves for the Hogan litigation.”
That case centers on a video that Gawker obtained that showed Mr. Bollea having sex with a woman who was then the wife of a friend. The site posted a short edited version of that video, but it was forced to take it down by Mr. Bollea, who is now suing Gawker Media and Mr. Denton for violating his privacy. He has asked a Florida state court for $100 million in damages. The trial is scheduled to begin in March.
In an interview, Mr. Epstein said that Columbus Nova, which also includes the digital music service Rhapsody and the record label 300 Entertainment in its portfolio, had been drawn to Gawker in part because of its reputation.
“We have been attracted to the company because of the authenticity with which they approach all storytelling,” he said. “I will have no input on the editorial, or the editorial mix. Any changes will be driven one way or another by Nick and the team.”
Correction: January 20, 2016
An earlier version of this article misstated the status of a deal between Gawker Media and the investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners. While Gawker plans to sell a minority stake to Columbus Nova, the deal requires the approval of Gawker Media’s shareholders. The sale has not been completed.
Gawker is selling part of the company to Columbus Nova Technology Partners as part of a fundraising effort in light of Hulk Hogan’s lawsuit against the company. This is the first time that founder Nick Denton has brought on outside investors.
www.nytimes.com/2016/01/21/business/media/gawker-media-sells-minority-stake-to-investment-company.html?_r=1
Gawker Media Plans to Sell Minority Stake to Investment Company
Gawker Media plans to sell a minority stake to the investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners, a move its founder, Nick Denton, said was driven by the need for funding for growth initiatives, and to bolster itself for a continuing lawsuit brought by Terry Bollea, the wrestler known as Hulk Hogan.
Both Gawker and Columbus Nova declined to describe the specifics of the deal, which is subject to shareholder approval. Jason Epstein, the managing director at Columbus Nova, will take a seat on Gawker’s board.
For Gawker, Mr. Denton said, the deal concludes several months of meetings about outside investment. The company had been independent since its founding in the early 2000s, Mr. Denton said, “but digital media is a serious business. This is not a blog collective any more.”
Continue reading the main story
RELATED COVERAGE
Gawker to Retool as Politics SiteNOV. 17, 2015
On the Runway: Grace Coddington, Accidental Celebrity of ‘The September Issue,’ Steps Down at VogueJAN. 20, 2016
Univision Buys a Stake in The Onion to Reach MillennialsJAN. 19, 2016
The company’s websites, including Gawker.com, which recently switched to focus on politics rather than New York and the media world, will remain editorially independent despite the new investment, Mr. Denton said.
The company’s growth, he said, has been built on the fact that “we will write the stories that stodgier media organizations won’t write.”
“Everything gets back to the fact that the digital generation is supremely suspicious,” he said, and demands authenticity.
The money will be used, in part, to fund expansions into video and e-commerce for the flagship Gawker Media sites like Gizmodo, which covers technology, he said, “and then the second factor is girding ourselves for the Hogan litigation.”
That case centers on a video that Gawker obtained that showed Mr. Bollea having sex with a woman who was then the wife of a friend. The site posted a short edited version of that video, but it was forced to take it down by Mr. Bollea, who is now suing Gawker Media and Mr. Denton for violating his privacy. He has asked a Florida state court for $100 million in damages. The trial is scheduled to begin in March.
In an interview, Mr. Epstein said that Columbus Nova, which also includes the digital music service Rhapsody and the record label 300 Entertainment in its portfolio, had been drawn to Gawker in part because of its reputation.
“We have been attracted to the company because of the authenticity with which they approach all storytelling,” he said. “I will have no input on the editorial, or the editorial mix. Any changes will be driven one way or another by Nick and the team.”
Correction: January 20, 2016
An earlier version of this article misstated the status of a deal between Gawker Media and the investment company Columbus Nova Technology Partners. While Gawker plans to sell a minority stake to Columbus Nova, the deal requires the approval of Gawker Media’s shareholders. The sale has not been completed.