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Univision Holdings Inc won a bankruptcy auction on Tuesday to acquire U.S. internet publisher Gawker Media LLC for $135 million, outbidding media company Ziff Davis LLC, which had made an initial offer of $90 million, Reuters reported yesterday. Univision's winning bid for Gawker, which will go before a bankruptcy judge tomorrow, shows how the U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster is seeking to expand its digital media properties and is not shying away from a news brand that has often courted controversy to build a cult readership. Univision was the only challenger to Ziff Davis, whose stalking-horse bid had set the floor for others in the auction. Gawker sought bankruptcy in June after facing a $140 million court judgment following an invasion of privacy lawsuit from former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over the publication of excerpts from a sex tape.

An affiliate of White Plains, New York-based Reich Brothers LLC bid $29.7 million Friday for the Columbus Castings’ assets, the Columbus (Ohio) Business Journal reported today. The bid bested an offer of $28.1 million by an entity named Columbus Operations LLC. The auction could mark the end of a swift revival and fall for the Parsons Avenue plant of Columbus Castings, which has counted a variety of owners and names over its decades but remained a constant presence on the southern edge of Columbus. The plant’s operators in April warned its nearly 800 employees that they could lose their jobs as the plant’s holding company prepared for chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, which it filed in May. A planned private sale for the plant fell through in June.

Univision Holdings Inc. has offered to acquire Gawker Media LLC, challenging a $90 million stalking-horse bid from media company Ziff Davis LLC in the auction for the U.S. internet publisher, Reuters reported today. Univision's bid for Gawker illustrates how the U.S. Spanish-language broadcaster is seeking to expand its digital media properties, and is not shying away from a news brand that has often courted controversy to build a cult readership. Despite the media hype that is usually associated with Gawker, however, Univision's sole bid shows that interest in the auction was otherwise limited. An investment banker representing Gawker said in court last month that he had a list of 40 potential buyers he planned to market the company to. Gawker filed for bankruptcy in June, with a pre-packaged acquisition proposal from Ziff Davis, setting the floor for any other offers at the bankruptcy auction. The New York-based publisher sought bankruptcy after facing a $140 million court judgment following an invasion of privacy lawsuit from former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan over the publication of excerpts from a sex tape.

SunEdison Inc. is seeking bankruptcy-court approval to sell a number of North American solar- and wind-power projects to NRG Energy Inc. for $144 million, subject to higher bids, Dow Jones Newswires reported yesterday. SunEdison yesterday filed papers in its chapter 11 case outlining plans to auction its ownership stakes in the companies that construct large-scale renewable-energy facilities and sell wind or solar power to utility and other customers. The projects up for sale are located in Utah, California, Maine, Hawaii, Texas and Washington, court papers say. The value of NRG's $144 million bid could ultimately climb to $188 million, as it includes the potential for SunEdison to collect up to $44 million after the sale closes depending upon the achievement of certain milestones related to the projects.

The assets of Tucson, Ariz.-based artificial heart maker SynCardia Systems will go on the bankruptcy auction block Sept. 14, after the company won court approval of the auction despite the objections of creditors and a case trustee, the Arizona Daily Star reported on Saturday. Bankruptcy Judge Mary F. Walrath signed the order approving the auction on Friday, finding that SynCardia “articulated good and sufficient business reasons” to approve the auction. The judge did delay the process, after a committee of unsecured creditors and the U.S. Trustee in the chapter 11 case complained that the auction timetable was too short. SynCardia and its proposed buyer had proposed holding an auction Aug. 19 and a hearing to approve the winning bidder on Aug. 22, contending a quick sale was needed to keep SynCardia afloat. Judge Walrath ordered the auction to be conducted on Sept. 14 and the hearing to approve the sale to the highest bidder to be held on Sept. 16.

The Denver Broncos professional football team will acquire the naming rights to its Mile High Stadium from Sports Authority after the bankrupt U.S. sporting goods retailer failed to find a new sponsor for the venue, Reuters reported yesterday. The deal comes less than three weeks before the Broncos' first preseason game against the San Francisco 49ers on Aug. 20. The National Football League regular season begins Sept. 8. Sports Authority acquired the naming rights in 2011 but the chain filed for bankruptcy in March, citing, in part, debt from a buyout and loss of market shares to rivals. The retailer extensively marketed its naming rights for the stadium as part of the sale of its assets, but no cash bids came in, according to the filing. The Denver Broncos said in a statement that the name of the stadium, Sports Authority Field at Mile High, has not yet changed, and there was no timetable for securing a new naming rights agreement.

NextEra Energy Inc. agreed to buy Energy Future Holdings Corp.'s stake in Oncor, in a deal that values the electricity transmissions business at $18.4 billion, Dow Jones Newswires reported on Friday. The transaction will be a crucial element in getting Energy Future — the former TXU Corp. — out of chapter 11 bankruptcy, which began in April 2014. Meanwhile, the deal for Oncor makes NextEra, of Florida, a major player in the Texas electricity market. The deal includes the equity of the reorganized holding company Energy Future and certain of its subsidiaries as well as the majority stake in Oncor. NextEra began the competition for Oncor two years ago, when Energy Future's case was bogged down in court fights. Investors spotted the hidden value in the transmissions business, which was operating free and clear of Energy Future's financial troubles, and was originally slated to be handed over to certain creditors in satisfaction of their debt. The NextEra deal must go before the Public Utility Commission of Texas for approval, but it doesn't include the component that scuttled the Hunt takeover, which was a proposal to convert Oncor into a real-estate investment trust structure. The deal also must be approved by a bankruptcy judge as part of Energy Future's plan to exit bankruptcy.