A Mineola-based marketing firm is the leading bidder to buy the remaining assets of the gossip website Gawker.com.
Didit announced last Tuesday in a news release that its $1.13 million bid is the “stalking horse bid” in the sale of what remains of Gawker Media.
Didit, founded in 1996, is a marketing and communications firm based in Mineola with offices in Manhattan and Massachusetts.
If Didit prevails, the company plans to make Gawker.com into “Gawker For Good,” according to Didit’s release.
Didit will donate 50 percent of net advertising revenue to a range of nonprofit organizations selected by content creators and readers, according to the release.
The new site will also “focus exclusively on ‘Good Gossip and ‘Good News,'” with an editorial mission to change the old Gawker site, according to Didit.
Content will be based on entertainment coverage including sports, gaming and celebrity news.
“We’ve been advising clients that storytelling is critical for marketing success, so it makes sense for us to own a platform that is all about storytelling,” David Pasternack, Didit co-founder and CEO, said in the release.
Bert Brosky, managing partner at Didit, said in the release that the Gawker brand will allow Didit to “demonstrate that we can build a platform that delights readers, advertisers, and the nonprofit community, while covering Hollywood, sports, music and news.”
Gawker filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2016 following a lawsuit from wrestler Hulk Hogan after the site posted a sex tape of Hogan.
The plan administrator of the Gawker estate petitioned the bankruptcy court to hold a second auction, and a decision is expected by June 20, according to Newsday.
The final auction could begin the week of July 9, according to Newsday.
Didit can raise its bid in the final auction as the stalking horse, according to Newsday.
