BuzzFeed sold to Byron Allen, who will take over as CEO in $120m deal
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.
Nvidia’s Jensen Huang joins other US bosses on Trump trip to China
The billionaire chief executive of the chipmaker Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has joined Donald Trump’s China delegation after a reported last-minute invitation, highlighting the US’s AI and tech ambitions.Huang will join a roster of US bosses including the Tesla chief executive and X owner, Elon Musk, the Apple chief executive, Tim Cook, and Goldman Sachs’s David Solomon at Trump’s 36-hour meeting with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping.The high-stakes summit is the first overseas trip for Trump since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran in late February. The summit is expected to cover topics including that conflict, tariffs and China’s relationship with Taiwan.Huang was not on the initial list of business delegates, according to reports
How to use spent tea leaves to smoke Chinese-style duck – recipe
A masterclass in smoking duck breasts the Sichuan way, but with used teabagsWhen I worked at River Cottage HQ, we used to smoke duck, rabbit and fish in a smoker made out of an old bread bin. It always felt like an exciting and alchemical way to cook, yielding incredible results, and it’s so simple, not least because food has been smoked since we first learned to cook over fire. Today’s recipe is my simple take on Chinese zhangcha duck, River Cottage-style and with a zero-waste twist by using spent teabags as the perfect fuel.It was always fun cooking at River Cottage: in between cooking lunch for our guests, we’d do cooking demos and sometimes cooked to camera (I have a cameo at the end of this video of Gill Meller making smoked duck that was filmed more than 20 years ago!)Zhangcha duck is traditionally smoked with camphor leaves and green or black tea, and while you can find camphor in some Asian supermarkets and online, tea alone does the job very well, too. Even still-wet spent teabags will work perfectly, imparting their incredible aroma into the meat
Weight gain as adult increases cancer risk by up to five times, research shows
Gaining weight as an adult increases the risk of cancer by up to five times, according to research involving more than 600,000 patients.Obesity can cause 13 different cancers and is thought to be linked to another eight. But less is known about the impact on cancer risk of the amount of weight put on – and when in life it is gained.To find out, researchers at Lund University in Sweden analysed weight and cancer incidence data from more than 600,000 men and women and found there was no safe age to get heavier.The study, presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, measured the weight of more than 250,000 men and just under 380,000 women an average of four times between the ages of 17 and 60
Sarah Taylor named England men’s fielding coach while Gay, Rew and Baker are called up
On a day when England named three uncapped players in their Test squad, brought Ollie Robinson out of cold storage and officially confirmed a new selector had joined the set-up, perhaps the most significant news was the identity of their fielding coach.Sarah Taylor, the former England wicketkeeper, will be in charge of the fielding drills during the three-Test series against New Zealand that begins at Lord’s on 4 June – the first female coach to work in the men’s senior setup.The fact that Rob Key, the England men’s team director, almost mentioned it in passing was fitting for a coach who has quietly risen through the ranks. Taylor, 36, has held a number of roles in the men’s game since hanging up her gloves five years ago, including spells with Sussex men and Manchester Originals in the Hundred.This latest post is just for the New Zealand series initially but may continue through the summer
Wes Streeting prepares to launch leadership challenge against Keir Starmer
Wes Streeting is preparing to launch a leadership challenge against Keir Starmer on Thursday if the health secretary can secure the support of enough MPs to trigger a contest.Streeting’s move to force a race has sparked a frantic scramble on the left of Labour to find a candidate to oppose him, with Ed Miliband and Angela Rayner both possible contenders.The health secretary, who is considered to be on the Blairite right of the party, has been organising an attempt to oust the prime minister for days since Labour’s disastrous election results, despite his friends insisting he did not want to make the first move.Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, is the favoured replacement for Starmer by many on the soft left, but does not yet have a seat despite trying to persuade several MPs to stand down for him. His latest hopes are said to be Afzal Khan or Jeff Smith, both Manchester MPs
Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes
Public institutions, from hospitals to museums, are the most international communities, both in the workforce and in those who visit. It’s something that became obvious to us when we were cooking our globally inspired meals for frontline workers at Kings College Hospital, London, during the pandemic. The menu at Café Jikoni, our new restaurant at the V&A East museum, speaks to the depth and breadth of east London’s diverse community, with dishes that cross borders, celebrate pluralism and taste like home – wherever that may be. After all, the best hospitality is all about making your guests feel at home.This dal wanders from India into Thailand; we make a curry paste from scratch at Café Jikoni, but using a good-quality one, such as Maeploy, is a smart shortcut
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