Byron Allen Expands His Board Of Directors “Effective Immediately” After Resubmitting Offer To Purchase BET For $3.5 Billion + Calls Out Execs For Allegedly Cutting Sale Price In Order To Sell To “Inside” & Non Black Interest Groups

Byron Allen

Byron Allen Expands His Board Of Directors “Effective Immediately” After Resubmitting Offer To Purchase BET For $3.5 Billion + Calls Out Execs For Allegedly Cutting Sale Price In Order To Sell To “Inside” & Non Black Interest Groups

Media mogul Byron Allen is not giving up on his pursuit to acquire BET.

The billionaire reportedly sent an offer recently to the network’s current owners that is above asking price and has also made a significant change to his own company that suggests the deal just might be going through.

Byron Allen

As we’ve previously reported Paramount Global, who currently owns the Black Entertainment Network, has been in talks to sell the media company for some time. Earlier this year, several Black billionaires such as Tyler Perry, Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as well as Byron Allen were reportedly in the running to add the legendary network to their media portfolio. However, things came to a halt when Paramount reportedly ended the bidding process allegedly due to no one wanting to pay their $3 billion asking price. It seems Allen has since had a change of heart.

In an email sent to to Paramount Global senior executives and board recently, Allen reportedly wrote that he’s willing to purchase the network for $3.5 billion, up significantly from his initial bid of $2.7 billion. Should the deal be completed, the Allen Media Group owner would acquire all of BET Media Group, which includes the BET cable channel, VH1, BET Studios and their streaming service BET+. Reportedly, Paramount has been considering cutting the price of the network to potentially sell the company to current CEO Scott Mills, a 26 year veteran of the network, or Blackstone private equity firm. However, Allen made clear in his address that he did not agree with that decision, writing in his email:

“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.”

Byron Allen

While it has not been confirmed that Allen was successful in his pursuit, reports from earlier today claimed that the media titan is making significant changes in his own company. Allen reportedly expanded his board of directors “effective immediately” from three individuals – which included himself, his mother/film producer Carolyn Folks, and COO Terence Hill – to nine individuals, signaling an expansion of his empire. At present, AMG owns 12 cable network (including the Weather Channel), JusticeCentral.TV, Cars.TV and Pets.TV. Additionally, the company encompasses a theatrical movie distribution company as well as 28 broadcast stations affiliated with the Big Four broadcast networks (ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC). In a statement announcing the change, Allen reportedly wrote:

“For the past 30 years, I’ve been working with a small board of three directors, but now that Allen Media Group is much bigger as we’ve become highly acquisitive, I am excited to announce the addition of these six new board members,”

Adding:

“I am extremely proud of this board because it is diverse, and the people who make it up are simply the best because they know our business and the media space innately, which allows us to move quickly and efficiently in this rapidly changing landscape.”

There have been no further updates about Allen’s acquisition of BET at this time.

[VIA 1,2]

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