The online news site makes its move after suffering a $140 million judgment in the Hulk Hogan lawsuit.

Gawker Media has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a Florida judge issued a $140 million final judgment in favor of Hulk Hogan in the invasion-of-privacy lawsuit over the posting of a sex tape.

The online news organization founded in 2003 by Nick Denton which now includes other sites like Deadspin, Jezebel and Kotaku, reports that it has less than $100 million in assets and hundreds of millions in liabilities. Gawker is currently facing a wrath of litigation that's been connected to Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel. Besides the Hogan suit, there are claims from a journalist and the alleged inventor of e-mail who both say they were defamed. Gawker is also facing off against the parent company of Daily Mail in court and was hit with a copyright lawsuit this week over a photograph of an Uber car.

Gawker has hired the investment bank Houlihan Lokey to advise it on a possible sale. In conjunction with the bankruptcy filing, Gawker also announced in had entered into an asset purchase agreement to sell its assets to Ziff Davis. The financial terms should be relased soon, but it is believed that the tech publisher will be putting up  $100 million for the site, which had about 44 million unique visitors last month. The sale could trigger an auction process for other potential buyers and is subject to approval from a bankruptcy court.

"The sale and filing are intended to preserve the value of GMG's pioneering digital news business, safeguard the jobs of journalists and other staff, and allow GMG to fund the appeal against the $130 million judgment in the Hulk Hogan case against the company in a Florida state court," states a press release.