FILE - iPhone fans share a light moment while waiting for the first day sales of iPhone 3GS in Tokyo, Japan, Friday, June 26, 2009. Longtime technology news and review site Gizmodo has been sold for the third time in the past eight years. (AP Photo/Junji Kurokawa, File)
Gizmodo, a prominent technology news and review platform, has changed ownership for the third time in eight years. This time, a European publisher, Keleops based in Switzerland, has acquired it, aiming to expand its digital coverage.
The acquisition price remains undisclosed. Previously, in 2016, Gizmodo was included in a $135 million deal when Univision Communications acquired its former owner, Gawker Media. This move followed Gawker's bankruptcy due to a legal dispute with wrestler Hulk Hogan.
Subsequently, Univision sold Gizmodo and The Onion, a satirical publication, to Great Hill Partners in 2019 for what was speculated to be a fraction of the 2016 deal. Great Hill established G/O Media to manage Gizmodo and other websites. G/O Media CEO Jim Spanfelle noted in a staff memo that the recent sale of Gizmodo fetched a significantly higher price than the 2019 transaction with Univision, attributing it to the efforts of the editorial teams and other operational areas.
He assured the preservation of Gizmodo's staff as part of the deal. Recently, The Onion was sold to tech executive Jeff Lawson, who urges readers to donate $1 to support it financially. Keleops CEO Jean-Guillaume Kleis, envisioning a more traditional business approach, plans to capitalize on Gizmodo's established brand and editorial expertise.
Kleis anticipates synergies between Keleops' digital proficiency and Gizmodo's content quality. Notably, Gizmodo made headlines in 2010 by acquiring an early iPhone 4 prototype, sparking a controversy with Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs alleging theft and extortion. Although Jobs accused Gizmodo of attempting to extort Apple to retrieve the device, local prosecutors in Silicon Valley did not press charges.
