Byron Allen is acquiring a majority stake in BuzzFeed for $120 million and will become the company’s chairman and CEO, BuzzFeed said Monday.
The purchase involves 40 million BuzzFeed shares at $3 apiece, a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission shows, with the transaction leaving Allen Family Digital holding roughly 52% of outstanding shares once it closes. Financing consists of an upfront cash payment of $20 million, with the remaining $100 million carried as a promissory note that matures in five years and accrues interest at an annual rate of 5%. Closing is expected on or about May 26.
On the date the deal closes, Peretti — who co-founded BuzzFeed — will give up both the chief executive role and his chairmanship of the board, moving instead into a newly created position carrying the title president of BuzzFeed AI. Byron Allen, 65, has served as founder, chairman, and CEO of Allen Media Group since founding the company in 1993. His holdings include The Weather Channel, 13 broadcast television network affiliate stations across 11 U.S. markets, and 10 HD television networks.
In a statement, Allen outlined plans to push BuzzFeed and HuffPost toward “free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content,” adding that BuzzFeed is now “officially chasing YouTube to become another premiere free video streaming service.” Peretti welcomed the transition in his own statement, saying Allen is well-positioned to guide the company into “our next phase of growth” and expressing enthusiasm for leaving the chief executive seat to concentrate on AI-driven product and technology work, telling reporters he is “excited to switch my focus to a more hands-on role developing products and technology.”
Alongside the ownership change, the company has flagged a range of operational shifts — among them workforce cost cuts and the spinning off of BuzzFeed Studios and Tasty into a standalone entity, Variety reported.
As part of the governance changes tied to the deal, BuzzFeed’s board is set to grow from four members to eight, with Allen Family Digital holding the right to name five of those incoming directors. Nasdaq agreed to waive its standard requirements for shareholder approval and voting rights protections in this case; BuzzFeed’s audit committee had concluded that waiting for a shareholder vote “would seriously jeopardize the financial viability of the Company,” according to the SEC filing.
BuzzFeed missed a $5 million debt payment at the end of April, triggering a deadline extension to May 18 to avoid a default that the company had warned could lead to a bankruptcy filing. The company had also cautioned investors it could run out of money before year-end and was exploring strategic options. Full-year 2025 revenue came in at $185.3 million, down about 2.4% from the prior year, while the net loss reached $57.7 million. In the most recent quarter, advertising sales dropped close to 20% and the net loss totaled $15.1 million, Bloomberg reported.
BuzzFeed stock has fallen 70% since its 12-month high last July. The company’s valuation once reached $1.7 billion following a $200 million investment from Comcast’s NBCUniversal in 2016, and revenue peaked at $437 million in 2022 before a sustained decline led the company to shut its news operation in 2023 and sell assets including Complex and First We Feast.
