When I read that headline I heard it in my head like Mike Myers saying it as Doctor Evil in Austin Powers. “Twenty Meeleeon Doll-hars.” It’s just such a ridiculous amount for a ridiculous site. He doesn’t credit his other writers, he only writes brief dismissive comments (if that’s still him writing), and the sarcasm and meanness is just dripping from his articles. I’ve also been miffed at the way he get leads and ideas from other sources without crediting. He gets the news fast, though and does run scoops. I don’t read the site regularly though and will only go there if Perez has an exclusive. Maybe I’m just jealous, right? I did get a decent lead on a story today when I went over to his site.

Anyway Perez has been offered a whopping $20 million for his website, but that’s mostly for the traffic, which would be diverted to another new website run jointly by a Canadian gossip blogger named Zach Taylor and the guy from TheDirty.com, Nik Richie. Richie made minor headlines when he married Bachelor winner Shayne Lamas in Vegas after knowing her just a few days. I know of Zach Taylor because I had to set up a filter on my gmail to archive all the unsolicited spam I get for his site.

Gawker thinks this could possibly be a publicity stunt, but adds that it has the trappings of a legitimate offer. The same company that’s posing the deal also paid $20 million for HotOrNot.com.

Gawker has learned that Avid Life Media, the owner of sites including HotorNot.com and Ashley Madison, has partnered with two prominent gossip bloggers to put in a $20 million bid to acquire PerezHilton.com.

Avid Life’s spokesperson, Steph Davidson, confirmed to us this morning that the company has teamed with Zack Taylor—gossip blogger and proprietor of ZackTaylor.ca—and Nik Richie, who runs the gossip site TheDirty.com, to make a bid for PerezHilton.com. Davidson also confirmed that a Letter of Intent was submitted to Perez and his attorneys earlier this week, and that Avid Life is now just waiting for a response.

We have obtained a copy of that Letter of Intent. It says that Avid Life subsidiary Eight Days Inc., along with Zack Taylor and Dirty World LLC, are offering Perez $20 million—$18 million up front, and $2 million in escrow for a year—for PerezHilton.com.

The letter states that “The Purchaser presently intends to continue, in the normal course, the employment of all employees of the Business from and after the Closing Date.” But it also says that following the purchase, Zack Taylor and Nik Richie “will operate the business.” It’s our understanding that the intention is to use the PerezHilton.com address as a sort of massive traffic-forwarding address to a new gossip site run by Taylor and Richie. What role (if any) Perez Hilton himself would have in this is unclear; Avid Life’s Davidson said that she couldn’t say, because they don’t know yet.

Major caveats: This offer could be more of a PR stunt than anything else. Gaining some media coverage for this could be a great way to, say, get a lot of free advertising for a new site that Taylor, Richie, and Avid Life wanted to launch. It’s unclear if Perez is interested in selling his site. And without knowing what Perez’s role post-sale would be, it’s hard to say whether the offer is a viable one or not. A year ago, 24/7 Wall Street estimated PerezHilton.com’s value at $32 million, and that number would presumably be higher now. Then again, such outside estimates of closely held internet companies are notoriously tricky; $20 million could well be more realistic. And while gossip bloggers themselves may be prone to PR stunts, Avid Life is a very real player: It paid $20 million for HotorNot.com two years ago.

[From Gawker]

I think Perez should take the money and run. He’ll probably have a hard time giving up control of his namesake website, but $20 million dollars should be enough to convince him. Maybe I’m approaching this blogging business all wrong. All I need to do is become an obnoxious famewhore with the communication skills of a grade school bully. I’ll tell Kaiser to write in half assed shorthand too, scribble on the pictures, and sign all her posts as me. I would hate to do that, but if it will increase the value of the site to at least seven figures it’s worth it.

Perez recently told MTV News that he’d gladly replace Simon Cowell on American Idol for free. That’s one way to ensure that ratings go south. Or maybe people will watch it just to see who Perez picks fights with every week.