Byron Allen is back in the media mergers and acquisitions business.
The mogul, whose Allen Media Group owns The Weather Channel, a production company, local TV stations and streaming platforms, is buying a major stake in premium pay-TV brand Starz.
Allen acquired a 10.7 percent stake in Starz through his investment firm and family office, Allen Family Capital. According to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Allen is paying $25 million for the stake, which he acquired from the investment fund Liberty 77, led by former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.
Starz, of course, was spun off from Lionsgate last year. Mnuchin was a major investor in that company, and joined Lionsgate’s board of directors earlier this year. However, his interest appears to be in the studio, not the pay TV and streaming business that Starz operates in, hence the sale.
However, Allen remains a big believer in the television business, as the rest of his holdings confirm. Starz has been growing its streaming business in recent quarters as it seeks to overcome challenges facing its linear TV business.
Allen has been making moves: Last year he put his local TV stations up for sale, selling some to Gray Media. He also set his sights on CBS Late Night, where he signed a deal to acquire his show Comics unleashed (which he also hosts as a comedian himself) at 12:30, focusing on 11:30 once Stephen Colbert exits.
The notice filed in connection with his purchase of the Starz stake adds that he may continue to add to his stake, and take a more active approach with the company.
“Consistent with these investment purposes, Allen may make contact with, but not limited to, one or more Starz shareholders, Starz management and/or one or more members of Starz’s board of directors and may make suggestions or proposals regarding Starz’s operations, prospects, business and financial strategies, strategic transactions, assets, liabilities, business alternatives, financing, board composition and other matters that Allen may deem relevant to an investment in Starz,” his family office wrote.
