Bain Capital wants a piece of Gawker.
Or, at least, it did.
A newly minted analyst at Mitt Romney's former private equity firm emailed Gawker Media CEO Nick Denton Tuesday evening to set up a meeting with the self-professed "gossip merchant."
"Just came across Gawker and I'm interested in what you're building," analyst Mike Griffin wrote in the email, which Gawker published on Wednesday.
Therein lies his first mistake — he just "came across" the site and didn't do much digging. Because even a quick Google search reveals that the site published a trove of Bain's internal documents in August.
And that its writers generally disregard confidentiality clauses at the bottom of emails.
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"I believe there may be some synergies between Gawker and Bain Capital Ventures and I'd love to find ways that we could be helpful as you continue to grow," Griffin wrote.
John Cook, one of Gawker's senior (and snarkiest) writers, called Griffin to confirm the email was not a hoax.
"I asked if he was familiar with Gawker's previous reporting on Bain," he wrote. "He was not."
Rather, Griffin said he had just started at the firm a week ago.
"I just thought it was a unique idea," the unsuspecting Griffin told Cook. "I'm not sure it would work out. This is awkward."
Griffin did not immediately respond to emails and a phone call to Bain from TheWrap requesting comment.
Cook said he wasn't worried that publishing a screenshot of the confidential message could garner some unwanted attention from Bain's lawyers.
"Haven't heard from Griffin or Bain," he wrote in an email to TheWrap. "And I'm not concerned about posting the email."