BuzzFeed, the digital media pioneer once valued as high as $1.7 billion, has been sold to media entrepreneur Byron Allen for $120 million, the company announced Monday.
Allen will replace founder Jonah Peretti as chief executive. The deal is expected to bring significant cost cuts to the struggling publisher.
BuzzFeed's valuation has plummeted from its peak during a private equity-funded wave of investor interest in high-traffic websites in the 2010s.
Allen, who controls Allen Media Group, a conglomerate that owns networks including The Weather Channel, is known for making large bids—sometimes unsolicited—for media companies. He is also an on-screen personality.
Allen's show, "Comics Unleashed," will replace "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on CBS's schedule later this month.
