Byron Allen is preparing to make a $3.5 billion bid for BET and VH1 in response to Paramount Global selling BET to a management-led investor group, according to Bloomberg.
Earlier this year, Paramount entertained bids for BET from Allen, Tyler Perry, and others but retracted the offer because “a sale wouldn’t result in any meaningful deleveraging of its balance sheet.”
But now, according to reports, Allen has resubmitted his bid after discovering potential discussions with BET CEO Scott Mills and Chinh Chu of CC Capital Partners. The potential deal was valued at just under $2 billion.
In the email to Paramount, Allen wrote, “You are pursuing an inside sale at a below-market price with management that will not yield the highest price for the stockholders. We believe it would be an egregious breach of fiduciary duty by the Paramount Global management team and board of directors if BET is sold for anything less than the highest price, particularly in order to provide a sweetheart deal to an insider at the expense of public shareholders.”
Acquiring BET Media Group would significantly expand Allen’s media empire, Allen Media Group, which already includes 12 cable networks, a theatrical movie distribution company, and 28 broadcast stations affiliated with major networks.
Renewed talks of a sale also come on the heels of a possible merger between Warner Bros. Discovery and Paramount Global.
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