May 21, 2026
Byron Allen Reveals Plans For A Hostile Takeover Of STARZ On ‘The Breakfast Club’
The media mogul spoke about Black wealth, ownership, and economic power
Media mogul Byron Allen talked about his recent media acquisitions, his pursuit to control STARZ Entertainment, and the fight for Black economic power during his latest appearance on The Breakfast Club.
Allen, founder and chairman of Allen Media Group, opened up about his company’s expansion, including its recent acquisition of BuzzFeed and HuffPost. He described the acquisitions as strategic moves designed to ensure Black-owned companies maintain influence in an increasingly consolidated media landscape.
Allen also addressed his plan to take over STARZ after recently acquiring a nearly 11% stake in the company for $25 million.
“We bought just under 11% — 10.7%. I like STARZ,” said Allen during the interview. “STARZ says that they’re going after the underserved. That’s code for Black,” he continued. “If you’re chasing us, we should own it.”
The comedian explained that STARZ has since adopted a “poison pill” shareholder rights plan to prevent him from acquiring more than 17.5% of the stock without board approval.
“We ended up being the second largest stockholder instantly, and now we have a seat at the table. And so, I’ve made it very clear I plan to buy the whole company. I want to control that company,” said the billionaire entrepreneur.
“My first preference would be to keep it public and to take 52% of it and just control it. But they immediately adopted a poison pill, and they said, ‘Hold up! We do not want you to own this company or control this company.’ So, they took a poison pill to stop me.”
Watch a clip of Allen’s interview on The Breakfast Club below.
Regardless of the opposition, Allen says he remains steadfast and optimistic.
“That won’t stop me. You’ll just delay us, but we will eventually get what we want,” he proclaimed.
“My preference is for it to stay public and for me to control it 51% or greater. But if I have to, I’ll buy the whole company, fire everybody, fire the board — not the people working there — get rid of the board for resisting me, and then take it back public.”
Allen, whose company owns the news platform TheGrio, went on to explain why he believes Black America’s biggest fight today is for economic power. Reflecting on a conversation he had with the late Coretta Scott King about Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision for “one America,” he said economic inclusion is what she described as the “fourth and final chapter” in the pursuit of Black liberation following the end of slavery, Jim Crow, and the fight for civil rights.
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