Byron Allen Ups Bid for BET Media Group to a Reported $3.5 Billion

BEVERLY HILLS - OCT 26,2015: Byron Allen at the Paley Center's Hollywood Tribute to African-Americans in TV, Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, CA — Photo by bossmoss/Deposit Photos

Byron Allen has submitted another bid to buy BET Media Group, this time offering a reported $3.5 billion.

According to a Wednesday report from Variety, Allen emailed senior executives and the board at parent company Paramount Global on Tuesday with his latest offer.

The offer was an increase from his previous $2.7 billion bid earlier in the year.

“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,” Allen wrote in the email, per Variety.

Related Story: Princell Hair Joins Byron Allen’s Allen Media Broadcasting as President

Bloomberg reports other potential buyers include BET Chief Executive Officer Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, a former Blackstone Inc. executive who runs New York-based CC Capital Partners.

Representatives for both Paramount Global and Allen Media Group declined to comment.

Allen previously tried to purchase a majority stake in BET when Paramount began shopping the network in March.  Tyler Perry and Sean “Diddy” Combs also expressed interest in the company, but the sale ultimately fell through.

As previously reported, Perry addressed the failed bid during a Bloomberg summit in October.

“I was disappointed about it for a number of reasons,” the Madea franchise producer and actor said. “The way it happened was disrespectful in a lot of ways. Don’t try to get me to pay for something that’s not worth anywhere near the value.”

Allen Media Group currently has 2,300 employees and owns 12 cable networks (including the Weather Channel), a theatrical movie distribution company, 22 local TV stations affiliated with the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC).

Black Entertainment Television was founded in 1980 by former cable industry lobbyist Robert L. Johnson.

In addition to BET, the BET Media Group now includes streaming service BET+, BET Her, BET Digital, BET Studios, and VH1.


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