Bryan Goldberg quietly purchased Valleywag in addition to Gawker - and it could be heading for a relaunch
- Bryan Goldberg, founder and CEO of Bustle Digital Group, purchased Valleywag, the defunct sibling site to Gawker Media, according to a person familiar with the matter.
- Goldberg recently acquired Gawker for a reported $1.35 million to "build upon Gawker's legacy and triumphs."
- Gawker is set to relaunch in 2019 and will be housed in a separate company from Bustle Digital Group.
Valleywag could make a comeback.
Bryan Goldberg has acquired the now defunct sibling site to Gawker as part of his acquisition of Gawker, according to a person familiar with the matter. The founder and CEO of Bustle Digital Group purchased Gawker in July in a bankruptcy auction for $1.35 million.
Gawker Media launched Valleywag in 2006 as a blog that covered Silicon Valley gossip and personalities. The site was known for breaking big, juicy, and often controversial stories about the technology world.
In 2008, it broke a story about Gene Simmons' sex tape leaking online and also reported on a relationship between Google founder Larry Page and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer. The site folded in 2008 before it was relaunched in 2013 by Sam Biddle.
The site has been dormant since 2015 after Gawker Media was sued into bankruptcy from a long lawsuit against Hulk Hogan that was bankrolled by Silicon Valley investor Peter Thiel. Univision bought Gawker Media for $135 million in 2016 and began selling off Gawker Media's assets this summer.
Goldberg won the assets to both Gawker.com and Valleywag.com and plans to relaunch Gawker early next year. Based on the success of that launch, Goldberg will decide if and when Valleywag will be relaunched, according to the person.
Under Goldberg, Gawker will be part of a subsidiary "completely distinct from our other properties," according to a memo that Goldberg sent Bustle Digital Group staffers that was obtained by Variety. "We won't recreate Gawker exactly as it was, but we will build upon Gawker's legacy and triumphs - and learn from its missteps," the memo read.
"In so doing, we aim to create something new, vibrant, highly relevant, and worth visiting daily." As part of the Gawker relaunch, Goldberg has also hired Amanda Hale as the site's publisher.