In a statement, Nick Denton, Gawker’s founder and chief executive, said: “I am pleased that our employees are protected and will continue their work under new ownership — disentangled from the legal campaign against the company. We could not have picked an acquirer more devoted to vibrant journalism.”

Univision declined to comment.

For Gawker, the sale is the end of an era. Founded in 2002 by Mr. Denton, a former journalist for The Financial Times, the site attracted young journalists who took on articles that traditional media organizations were sometimes reluctant to pursue. The company had its critics, who said its sites skirted the boundaries of good taste. It initially had only two sites — Gawker, a news and gossip site that largely covered New York media and society, and Gizmodo, a gadgets and technology blog. What journalists initially lacked in monetary compensation, they made up for in a kind of industry cachet. Employees went on to found influential sites like The Awl and work at publications like The New Yorker and Time.

“One thing that has always been true about Gawker is that it was an amazing incubator of talent,” said Adam Moss, the editor in chief of New York magazine, which has hired many former Gawker journalists. He added, “To a large extent, the voice that they worked out at the beginning became a kind of template for the way people talk on the web.”

Mr. Denton was known for saying that journalists too often share the most interesting stories they know only with each other at the bar after work, and the company held the value of entertaining readers seemingly above all else. Over the years, Gawker Media espoused a gossipy, wry tone that often made much of the traditional media seem old-fashioned. The company blogs now include Jezebel, which is aimed at women, and Deadspin, the sports site.

But Gawker’s take-no-prisoners approach has also been to its detriment. Mr. Bollea sued Gawker Media in 2012 over its publication of a video that showed him having sex with the wife of a friend. He has been unable to collect from Gawker on the $140 million judgment because of its bankruptcy filing. Mr. Denton, who is personally liable for $10 million and jointly liable for $115 million, filed for bankruptcy this month, listing $10 million to $50 million in assets and $100 million to $500 million in liabilities.