Byron Allen Takes Over BuzzFeed as CEO After $120M Acquisition of Struggling Media Pioneer

BuzzFeed sold to Byron Allen, who will take over as CEO in $120m deal

Allen, a media entrepreneur, to replace founder Jonah Peretti as chief executive with 'significant' cost cuts to come BuzzFeed, the digital media pioneer that was once valued as high as $1.7bn amid a private equity-funded wave of interest in websites that generated massive amounts of online traffic in the 2010s, has finally changed hands for $120m. On Monday, the company announced that a controlling stake in the company has been sold to media entrepreneur Byron Allen. Allen, who often makes large, sometimes unsolicited bids for media companies, is also an on-screen personality in addition to controlling his Allen Media Group conglomerate, which owns networks including The Weather Channel. Allen's show, Comics Unleashed, will replace the Late Show with Stephen Colbert on CBS's schedule starting later this month. As part of the transaction, Allen will take over for the BuzzFeed founder, Jonah Peretti, as chief executive, though Peretti will stay on as president of BuzzFeed AI. BuzzFeed also owns the progressive news outlet HuffPost. "Byron's vision, operational experience and long-term commitment to premium content makes him exceptionally well-positioned to lead BuzzFeed and HuffPost into our next phase of growth," Peretti said in a statement. "And personally, I'm thrilled Byron is taking over The Late Show With Stephen Colbert's time slot, and highly confident that his relationships with talent will bring some incredible stars to the BuzzFeed platform." Peretti said the company will undergo "significant" cost cuts ahead of Allen's arrival, which often mean employee layoffs. In the announcement, Allen said his focus will be "expanding into free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content". Allen, who owns 13 local television networks and 10 HD television networks, suggested that BuzzFeed will use AI to try to compete with YouTube "to become another premiere free video streaming service". BuzzFeed's value soared in the 2010s amid a private equity-funded wave of interest in websites that generated massive amounts of online traffic. It once included a well-staffed digital newsroom, but pivoted away from the journalism business in 2023. Since then, the company has become better known for content marketing, though its videos still often go viral. In an effort to generate cash, BuzzFeed went public in late 2021, a decision that turned out to be disastrous, as the company's stock price has continued to crater. In the first quarter of 2026, the company suffered a net loss of $15m. As of Monday evening, the company's stock price sits at $0.71 per share. But Allen will be buying 40m shares at $3 per share. "That says something about what he sees in what we've built," Peretti said in an internal memo to BuzzFeed employees about the sale that was obtained by the Guardian. In the memo, Peretti said he would speak directly with employees on Tuesday about the coming cost reductions. BuzzFeed's two most prominent digital media competitors, Vice Media and Vox Media, have also seen financial challenges since the days when Facebook algorithms helped them generate massive - but difficult to monetize - online audiences. Vox Media is reportedly considering a potential sale of parts of the company, with James Murdoch, son of media mogul Rupert Murdoch, said to be the leading potential buyer.

How new BuzzFeed CEO Byron Allen turned the 'worst thing that ever happened' into success

On May 11, media entrepreneur Byron Allen announced a deal to buy a majority stake in BuzzFeed -- the millennial-favorite news site that closed its Pulitzer Prize-winning news division in 2023. Allen is swooping in as savior of the 20-year-old publication, which otherwise would have had to file for bankruptcy as a result of its shrinking revenue. Allen will replace founder Jonah Peretti as CEO of BuzzFeed; Peretti will become president of BuzzFeed AI. "Our vision is to build on the iconic foundation of BuzzFeed and HuffPost by expanding into free-streaming video, audio, and user-generated content," Allen said in a statement announcing the deal. "As of this moment, with the power of AI, BuzzFeed is officially chasing YouTube to become another premiere free video streaming service." Allen's BuzzFeed deal amounted to $120 million. Most recently, Allen Media Group struck a deal with CBS to fill Stephen Colbert's late-night slot. Allen tried to strike larger deals to purchase media conglomerates like Paramount Global in the past, but those didn't pan out.

Byron Allen taking over as BuzzFeed CEO after buying majority stake for $120M

BuzzFeed said Monday media entrepreneur Byron Allen will take over as the digital media company's next CEO after he entered into a deal to buy a stake of about 52% in the digital media company for $120 million. Shares of BuzzFeed soared about 156% in extended trading. The company has been grappling with a cash crunch as advertisers increasingly shift spending to social media platforms such as TikTok and Meta Platforms' Instagram. Under the deal, Allen Family Digital will acquire 40 million BuzzFeed shares at $3 apiece, a 265.9% premium to Friday's closing price. BuzzFeed's market capitalization stands at roughly $31 million, according to data compiled by LSEG. Upon closing of the deal, BuzzFeed founder & CEO Jonah Peretti will handover charge to Allen and move into a newly created role as president of BuzzFeed AI. The deal, expected to close by the end of the month, will be funded with $20 million in cash and a $100 million promissory note due five years after closing, carrying an annual interest rate of 5%, the company said. BuzzFeed also reported a 12.4% decline in first-quarter revenue to $31.6 million, while its net loss widened to $15.1 million from $12.5 million a year earlier. The company, which withheld its annual forecast, said it expects to provide an update on its financial outlook in the coming months. BuzzFeed went public in 2021 through a blank-check merger that valued the company at about $1.5 billion. Its shares have fallen more than 98% since then.