Billionaire value investor Mario Gabelli said Thursday that investors should be buying shares of Tribune Media "aggressively" as the company finishes its strategic review.

The longtime investor explained he believes that the company will ultimately be poised for a takeover.

The Gamco founder said he's seen a lot of interest in the stock, which currently trades around $39. According to FactSet, Gamco is the ninth largest institutional shareholder of Tribune shares with a stake of 2.8 million. Gabelli's comments came during CNBC's "Halftime Report" Thursday afternoon.

The value player also said he bought more of the stocks he likes during the recent October sell-off. He explained that he was undeterred by the volatility, and instead doubled down on his method of assessing each company on a fundamental basis regardless of short-term sentiment.

You have to ask yourself "what's the business going to be worth over the next three to four years, not the next three to four hours," Gabelli added. "This is a terrific time."

The S&P 500 fell more than 10 percent from its all-time highs on October as a return of volatility spooked investors out of stocks and into safer assets.

Among Gabelli's greatest concerns, however, is the national debt.

"We've got a $20 trillion IOU; it's going higher with Draghi, Corroda and Jay Powell cutting back on the juice we put into the system. ... What if the 10-year [Treasury yield] goes to 4 percent quickly? And how does the market going to act with the headwind on multiples?"

The 10-year Treasury yield was last seen up around 3.224 percent, just shy of highs not seen since 2011.