Byron Allen Sells Entire Stake In Starz

Byron Allen’s Beverly Hills-based Allen Family Capital has unloaded its entire stake in Starz Entertainment.

The family office sold the stock in tranches between August 9 and Sept. 29 at prices of between circa $21 and $27 a share, according to an SEC filing Thursday. Allen unveiled in March that he had acquired a 10.7% stake.

Starz put in place a poison pill — a measure to deter hostile takeovers — just after the move by the founder and CEO of Allen Media Group. The shares have had a great run, up 86% year to date. Allen acquired the 1.8 million shares for about $25 million from a fund owned by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, and sold them for about $45 million.

The news came out during a conference with Starz CEO Jeff Hirsch and analysts after the company’s quarterly earnings.

Starz, which offers popular programming geared towards women and underserved audiences on its streaming platform and linear channel, separated from Lionsgate Studios in 2025. It’s focused on owning more of its slate, creating bundles with other streamers like it’s done with Peacock and Crunchyroll, and potentially acquiring channels that appeal to its core demos.

In May, Allen Family Digital closed a deal to acquire to acquire a majority stake in digital media company Buzzfeed with Byron Allen becoming chairman and CEO.

Allen Media Group‘s portfolio includes the Weather Channel and other digital and linear networks, along with FAST and AVOD streaming platforms. He also controls a group of local TV stations, and last year sold 10 of them to Gray Media for $171 million.