Longtime technology news and reviews website Gizmodo has been sold for the third time in eight years, this time to a European publisher trying to expand its coverage of the digital scene.
Switzerland-based Keleops didn’t disclose how much it paid for Gizmodo in its announcement of the deal on Tuesday. Gizmodo was a part of a $135 million deal in 2016 when Univision Communications purchased its previous owner, Gawker Media, after that company filed for bankruptcy following a lost lawsuit with former skilled wrestler Hulk Hogan.
Univision sold Gizmodo and satirical magazine The Onion to Boston-based investment firm Great Hill Partners in 2019 for a price believed to be a fraction of what it was paid in 2016. Great Hill formed G/O Media to administer Gizmodo and other web sites.
In a staff memo to the Associated Press, G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfelle said Gizmodo was sold this time for a significantly higher price than the value paid to Univision in 2019, but he didn’t provide any more specific details.
“These and other value increases are a clear testament to the work not only of our editorial teams, but also of the other core areas of our operations,” wrote Spanfelle, who said the deal also features a commitment to retain Gizmodo’s staff.
G/O Media recently sold The Onion to technology executive Jeff Lawson, who became a billionaire by founding online business software provider Twilio.
Lawson is asking Onion readers to donate $1 to assist support the corporate financially. Keleops CEO Jean-Guillaume Kleis, who founded his company ten years ago, plans to pursue a more traditional business strategy, leveraging the brand and repute Gizmodo has built over greater than 20 years in tracking technology.
“The combination of Keleops’ unique digital expertise and Gizmodo’s rich content and deep editorial expertise will bring great benefits to both our audience and our partners,” Kleis predicted in an announcement.
New York-based Gizmodo attracted worldwide attention in 2010 when it purchased an early prototype of Apple’s iPhone 4 that Apple’s late co-founder claimed was stolen. Jobs, who died in 2011, also accused Gizmodo of attempting to blackmail Apple to get the device back, prompting a Gizmodo editor to apologize. Local prosecutors in Silicon Valley didn’t file charges within the matter.
