Media mogul Byron Allen has renewed his try to amass BET Media Group from Paramount World — extending a $3.5 billion supply.
On Tuesday, Allen, who’s founder and CEO of Allen Media Group, emailed Paramount World senior executives and board, providing $3.5 billion for BET Media Group, which incorporates the BET cable channel, VH1, BET Studios and streaming service BET+, sources acquainted with the scenario confirmed to Selection. That’s up from $2.7 billion that Allen had provided earlier in 2023.
Reps for Paramount World and Allen Media Group declined to remark. Bloomberg first reported on Allen’s renewed supply for BET. Different potential patrons of BET Media Group embody BET CEO Scott Mills, a 26-year veteran of the corporate, and Chinh Chu, a former govt at private-equity agency Blackstone govt who runs CC Capital Companions, who’ve mentioned a price ticket of below $2 billion, Bloomberg reported.
Within the e mail to Paramount brass, Allen wrote, “You might be pursuing an inside sale at a below-market value with administration that won’t yield the best value for the stockholders. We imagine it could be an egregious breach of fiduciary responsibility by the Paramount World administration staff and board of administrators if BET is offered for something lower than the best value, notably, with a view to present a sweetheart deal to an insider on the expense of public shareholders.”
Earlier this 12 months, Paramount World had been exploring the sale of a majority stake in BET Media Group, with bidders mentioned to incorporate Allen, Tyler Perry and Sean “Diddy” Combs. In August, Paramount known as off the bidding course of for BET as a result of “a sale wouldn’t end in any significant deleveraging of its stability sheet,” the Wall Avenue Journal reported.
The renewed curiosity in a deal for BET comes amid talks between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount World a couple of potential merger. In the meantime, Shari Redstone, whose Nationwide Amusements owns a controlling stake in Paramount World, has been in talks to promote her shares in NAI, in accordance with a number of studies.
A deal for BET Media Group would dramatically develop Allen’s media empire. Allen Media Group, which encompasses Leisure Studios (based 30 years in the past as CF Leisure), owns 10 cable networks, together with the Climate Channel, JusticeCentral.TV, Automobiles.TV and Pets.TV, a theatrical film distribution firm and a secure of 28 broadcast stations affiliated with the Large 4 broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC). Allen Media Group additionally produces, distributes, and sells promoting for 71 tv exhibits, making it one of many largest impartial producers/distributors of first-run syndicated TV programming for broadcast stations. The corporate has almost 2,300 staff.
In September, Allen publicly introduced a $10 billion supply for ABC, eight native TV stations in addition to FX and Nationwide Geographic Channel, that are additionally Disney-owned properties. Disney CEO Bob Iger has since mentioned the corporate’s linear networks are “not on the market.”
Based by Robert L. Johnson in 1980, BET has been a significant outlet for programming aimed toward Black audiences since its inception. Johnson offered the cable channel to Viacom in 2001 for $3 billion.
