Entertainment mogul Byron Allen to acquire Buzzfeed, HuffPost
Digital entertainment company BuzzFeed Inc. is selling a majority stake to Los Angeles entertainment mogul Byron Allen for $120 million.
BuzzFeed announced the sale late Monday, saying Allen Family Digital agreed to pay $3 per share for 40 million shares, representing a 52% stake in the company.
Allen will pay $20 million upfront, and the remaining $100 million will be due within five years.
As part of the deal, Allen will also take over HuffPost, another internet pioneer owned by BuzzFeed.
The sale is expected to be completed later this month. BuzzFeed founder and current chief Jonah Peretti will move to a new role as president of BuzzFeed AI.
Allen will become president and chief executive officer.
“This investment in our business and Byron’s management roles will provide BuzzFeed with liquidity and operational focus,” Peretti said in a statement.
The 20-year-old site, once a favorite of the internet worth $1.5 billion, appealed to consumers with its lists, striking news articles and tests.Which ‘Schitt’s Creek’ character are you??”
BuzzFeed had been struggling financially for several years. It acquired HuffPost in 2021 to increase its readership and offerings to advertisers. Three years ago, it pulled the plug on its once-ubiquitous BuzzFeed News unit.
BuzzFeed reported a net loss of $15 million in the first quarter of the year. The company generated revenue of $31.6 million, a decrease of 12.4% compared to the same period of the previous year. Advertising revenue fell nearly 20% year over year to $17.1 million. However, content revenue increased by more than 50% to $7.5 million.
Peretti said in a statement that BuzzFeed will soon make another significant cost cut ahead of Allen’s takeover. He added that BuzzFeed Studios and Tasty will separate to form a new independent entity.
The deal comes at a busy time for Allen, a former stand-up comedian who will take over CBS’ late-night block later this month to replace “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which was canceled by CBS and owner Paramount Skydance.
Earlier this month, Allen sold television stations in nearly a dozen markets owned by Allen Media Group to Atlanta-based Gray Media Inc. for about $170 million.
Allen still owns 13 network-affiliated stations in about a dozen markets, the Weather Channel’s linear cable channel and digital outlets including Pets.TV and Comedy.TV.
“Our vision is to build on the iconic foundation of BuzzFeed and HuffPost by expanding into free video, audio and user-generated content,” Allen said. “BuzzFeed is officially pursuing YouTube to become another free video streaming service.”
