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FILE PHOTO: Terry Bollea, aka Hulk Hogan, sits in court during his trial against Gawker Media, in St Petersburg, Florida March 17, 2016. Dirk Shadd/Tampa Bay Times/Pool via Reuters Image Credit: REUTERS

Former professional wrestler Hulk Hogan, whose lawsuit against Gawker Media LLC precipitated its bankruptcy, will serve on the committee of unsecured creditors, according to a court filing.

The US Trustee, a bankruptcy watchdog, appointed Hogan to the committee on Friday. Hogan won a $140 million (Dh514 million) judgement against Gawker in a lawsuit after the gossip website published an excerpt from a sex tape in which he appeared.

Gawker filed for bankruptcy this month with a plan to sell itself to online publisher Ziff Davis LLC for $90 million, setting the floor for bids in a court-supervised auction scheduled to take place later this summer.

The committee makes sure value is maximised for creditors, and in this case will ensure the sale generates the biggest recovery possible, according to attorneys familiar with the case.