Gawker files for bankruptcy and says it will sell to Ziff Davis

Peter Thiel is smiling somewhere, probably.

Nick Denton, the owner of Gawker (AP)

Gawker Media filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York on Friday after losing a $140 million lawsuit against Hulk Hogan last month.

Gawker owner Nick Denton made the decision to avoid paying billionaire Peter Thiel, who secretly funded Hogan’s lawsuit in an effort to take down the media company. Denton is also entertaining offers from publisher Ziff Davis to purchase the company for less than $100 million, Recode reports. Denton previously estimated the operation to be worth between $200 and $300 million.

The company is best known for their blogs Gawker.com, Jezebel, Kotaku, Deadspin, Gizmodo and Lifehacker.

"We are encouraged by the agreement with Ziff Davis, one of the most rigorously managed and profitable companies in digital media," Denton said in a statement. "A combination would marry Ziff Davis' strength in ecommerce, licensing and video with [Gawker’s] premium media brands."

This story is developing, check back for updates.