According to sources cited by The Wall Street Journal, Univision is mulling the sale of the brand portfolio that includes popular sites like Gizmodo, Deadspin, The Root, Lifehacker and a chunk of The Onion.
Last year, the Spanish language broadcaster reportedly attempted to offload a 20-percent stake in the company for $200 million, but ultimately failed to find any takers, due to “skittish” potential investors.
All of this comes less than two years after Univision purchased Gawker Media, picking up the large suite of sites for $135 million, after the brand was felled by a Hulk Hogan lawsuit partially bankrolled by Peter Thiel. The brand was then folded into Fusion Media Group, a created four months prior when Univision bought out Disney’s stake in Fusion TV.
The move was largely seen as an attempt to appeal to a younger demo by a broadcast company that has otherwise had trouble adapting to current trends. But media is never easy, and in spite of a number of strong properties, the acquisition hasn’t exactly righted Univision’s ship.
Last month, Univision announced that former Media General head Vince Sandusky would replace Randy Falco as CEO, who stepped down shortly after the company abandoned plans to IPO. In April, the company laid off 150 employees as part of an on-going restructuring.
Univision has yet to comment on the story.
