After a failed bidding war to purchase BET from Paramount Global, theGrio owner Byron Allen has put up a new bid. Allen is a media mogul and the founder and CEO of Allen Media Group. Variety reports he emailed Paramount Global senior executives and board, offering $3.5 billion for BET Media Group. If acquired, the deal would include the BET cable channel, VH1, BET Studios, and streaming service BET+. His initial offer earlier this year was $2.7 billion. Under his media group, Allen owns The Weather Group, amongst others. The previous bidding war included bids from other heavy hitters such as Sean “Diddy” Combs, Tyler Perry, 50 Cent, Kenya Barris, and Shaquille O’Neal. Perry backed out and later spoke out against it.
“I was disappointed about it for a number of reasons,” the Madea staple said after he backed out of the bidding war, per The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The way it happened was disrespectful in a lot of ways.” Ultimately, Perry said the amount was too much. “Don’t try to get me to pay for something that’s not worth anywhere near the value.” At the time, reports surfaced that Paramount was reportedly asking for upwards of $3 billion, and Perry refused to raise the funds.
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When asked if he would purchase BET if it were up for sale again, he said, “No.” Adding, “God bless [Paramount]. I’m still working with them. I wish them the best.” Perry has several shows on BET+. Currently in rotation are Sistas, The Oval, and Zatima.
Allen isn’t the only one with his eye on the network. Variety reports other potential buyers of BET Media Group include BET CEO Scott Mills, a 26-year veteran of the company, and Chinh Chu, a former executive at private-equity firm Blackstone executive who runs CC Capital Partners. But, all reportedly have discussed purchasing the media group for less than $2 billion.
BET, an acronym for Black Entertainment Television, was founded by Bob Johnson in 1980 in Washington, D.C. He sold the company to Viacom in 2001 for a reported $3 billion.
