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Twelve years ago BuzzFeed Inc reportedly valued itself at almost $1 billion<\/a>, scaring off rumored interest from the Walt Disney Company.<\/p>\n Fast-forward to this week and BuzzFeed is selling a controlling stake<\/a> to Allen Family Digital for $120 million\u2014$100 million of which isn\u2019t due for five years. <\/p>\n Allen Family Digital, associated with Byron Allen, will control about 52% of BuzzFeed\u2019s outstanding shares at $3 each. <\/p>\n BuzzFeed\u2019s shares were up more than 101% to over $1.49 on Tuesday morning. The stock has been trading at under a dollar a share for most of this year. <\/p>\n As part of the deal, BuzzFeed CEO and founder Jonah Peretti will transition into a new role, president of BuzzFeed AI. Notably, BuzzFeed hasn\u2019t exactly had success<\/a> with its AI strategy, which included AI-generated quizzes and articles, as Futurism<\/em> reported. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, the title of CEO will transfer to Allen\u2014a comedian and the CEO, founder, and chairman of Allen Media Group. <\/p>\n \u201cByron\u2019s 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,\u201d Peretti said in the announcement. <\/p>\n \u201cTo prepare for his arrival, we are planning to make significant changes, including cost reductions and setting up BuzzFeed Studios . . . and Tasty as a new independent entity,\u201d Peretti continued.<\/p>\n Peretti also noted how Allen\u2019s long-running show, Comics Unleashed<\/em>, is taking over Stephen Colbert\u2019s The Late Show<\/em> slot on CBS. Allen originally found success as a comedian and pays CBS for the airtime, according to the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a>. Peretti is \u201chighly confident that his relationships with talent will bring some incredible stars to the BuzzFeed platform.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\nWhat the deal means for BuzzFeed<\/h2>\n
How is BuzzFeed doing as a company? <\/h2>\n