Byron Allen Cashes Out Entire Starz Stake With Nearly $20M Gain

Byron Allen sold his entire Starz stake for about $44.9 million, turning a $25 million bet on the home of “Power” into a gain of nearly $20 million.

The exit surfaced in an October 29 securities disclosure, according to Variety. Allen sold the roughly 1.8 million shares he held during August and September, months after buying into the pay-TV and streaming company.

His Beverly Hills-based investment firm, Allen Family Capital, made the sales in several batches. Deadline reported that prices ranged from about $21 to $27 per share.

That closed out an investment that had raised a much bigger question: Would Allen try to buy Starz outright?

In March, he bought a 10.7 percent stake from former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s Liberty 77 investment funds. The purchase covered 1,803,786 shares at $13.86 each, TheWrap reported. Before that deal, Allen had no Starz shares under his ownership or control.

His firm left room for several paths when it announced the purchase. It could buy more stock or sell its holdings as it weighed Starz’s business and market conditions. The firm also said it could discuss strategy with the company’s board and management.

Allen’s ambitions soon went beyond holding shares. Starz adopted a “poison pill” after his investment, a defense meant to make an unwanted takeover harder. The Hollywood Reporter reported that Allen still wanted control of the company despite that move.

He repeated that goal in a “Rapid Response” interview published July 31. Speaking with host Bob Safian, Allen laid out plans to build up Starz’s comedy offerings and pursue sports rights if he gained control.

“I can save Starz. Starz needs to be saved,” Allen said in that earlier interview.

For Hip-Hop viewers, the company was already familiar territory.

AllHipHop covered Allen’s March investment against the backdrop of 50 Cent’s television business there. The rapper-producer helped build the “Power” franchise at Starz, which also carried “BMF.”

Starz separated from Lionsgate in 2025. The company reported its latest quarterly results Thursday, alongside news of Allen’s exit. Its net loss fell to $34.8 million from $52.6 million a year earlier, while streaming revenue rose 1.7 percent to $226.6 million.