Paramount No Longer Looking To Sell Majority Stake In BET Media Group Due To It Not Being A ‘Meaningful’ Business Move For The Company

August 17, 2023 by Ashley Blackwell in TV with 0 Comments

Paramount No Longer Looking To Sell Majority Stake In BET Media Group Due To It Not Being A ‘Meaningful’ Business Move For The Company

BET is officially off the market!

According to reports, Paramount Global has reneged on its decision to sell a huge portion of BET Media Group, and the bidding process has come to an end.

Entities of BET Media Group

As previously covered, the unit (comprised of VH1, BET Studios, BET+, and BET channel) initially hit the shoppers’ block with a desire to “attract substantial interest from Black investors or institutions.”

However, while Paramount sought to bring a promising buyer in, the production conglomerate hoped to maintain a minority stake in BET Media Group. At the time, executives anticipated the transaction would beneficially aid all parties involved.

Reportedly, Tyler Perry, Diddy, Shaquille O’Neal, and Byron Allen were among those seeking majority acquisition of the leading network. It’s alleged that bids made to Paramount Global neared $3 billion.

Talks of the publicized sale reached national headlines amid its unveiling, but now… all bets are (seemingly) off.

When speaking of the unfortunate matter, an insider told an outlet,

“A sale wouldn’t result in any meaningful deleveraging of its balance sheet.”

The official logo for Paramount Global

Currently, specific details regarding the situation are limited.

Although the call-off may be disappointing to some, it appears that Tyler Perry is still sitting nicely with BET, as the legendary filmmaker already owns a small share of the entertainment empire, where he produces a good amount of its programming.

Tyler Perry

Black Entertainment Television (aka BET) was launched in 1980 by former cable lobbyist Robert L. Johnson. Decades later, it has now expanded beyond a channel and become an iconic media vehicle for Black culture as a whole.

What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments below!

[VIA]