Byron Allen to buy majority stake in BuzzFeed, shares surge

(Sharecast News) - BuzzFeed shares rocketed on Tuesday after it agreed to sell a controlling stake in the company to media entrepreneur Byron Allen for $120m.

Under the agreement, Allen Family Digital, an affiliate of Byron Allen's family office, will buy 40 million shares at $3.00 each. Once the deal completes, Allen Family Digital will own around 52% of the company.

Chief executive officer Jonah Peretti will be succeeded by Byron Allen, who will assume the role of chairman and CEO, while Peretti transitions to a newly-created role as president of BuzzFeed AI.

The deal is expected to close by the end of month.

Peretti said: "Byron Allen has built one of the world's largest media companies and is one of the most accomplished media entrepreneurs in the industry, having spent 30-plus years transforming distribution infrastructure, identifying strategic assets, and scaling them into something much greater.

"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. 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."

The news was announced late on Monday and by 1250 BST on Tuesday, BuzzFeed shares had doubled to $1.46 in pre-market trade.