Byron Allen sold the entirety of his shares in Starz throughout August and September, netting almost $45 million in total.
The media mogul acquired a 10.7% stake in the entertainment company for $25 million in March of this year. Allen Family Capital said it acquired 1,803,786 shares of Starz at a purchase price of $13.86 per share for $25 million.
A Thursday SEC filing showed that the investor started selling off his stocks Aug. 7 and sold the last of his shares by Sept. 29.
Prior to the deal, Allen did not own or exercise control over any shares of Starz. His firm noted that they acquired the shares for “investment purposes” and planned to increase or decrease its position depending on Starz’s performance and other market conditions.
The SEC filing comes as Starz released its third quarter earnings results. The company beat Wall Street expectations, with total revenue growing 0.5% to $322.4 million on a narrowed net loss to $34.8 million. Last quarter the company widened its overall net loss to $189.4 million.
Earlier this year, Allen told TheWrap that he planned to takeover Starz. Starz immediately responded by adopting a poison pill to defend itself against a hostile takeover.
“It’s not going to stop me. When I’m ready to buy the company, I will buy the entire company,” he told TheWrap. “But if they continue to try and stop me from making a greater investment and having a greater stake, I will just make an offer and buy all of the outstanding shares … Who knows? I may use BuzzFeed to buy Starz. I have options. But one thing’s for sure, I will eventually control Starz.”
Allen bought the shares from Steve Mnuchin after Starz was spun out into a separate company from Lionsgate last year. The move was made from Allen after he sold AMG’s local TV stations in ten markets to Gray Media in a $117 million deal in August 2025.
Over the last six years, Allen Media Group has invested over $1 billion in acquiring television stations and has become one of the largest independent, privately held owners of Big 4 network-affiliated stations.
Allen owns The Weather Channel and HBCU Go. The media mogul also has a controlling stake of BuzzFeed. Under his leadership the company laid off 35% of its workforce. He also produces Comics Unleashed, which airs weekdays on CBS.
