Media mogul Byron Allen is continuing his effort to purchase BET from Paramount Global. Allen, the founder and CEO of Allen Media Group, is offering to buy BET Media Group for $3.5 billion, Variety reported. Allen’s purchase would include the BET cable channel, along with VH1, BET Studios and the BET+ streaming service. The latest offer comes after Allen tried to purchase the company for $2.7 billion earlier this year.
The media mogul made his offer in an email he sent to Paramount Global senior executives and board members.
“You are pursuing an inside sale at a below-market price with management that will not yield the highest price for the stockholders,” Allen wrote in the email, per Variety. “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.”
According to Reuters, Paramount Global is considering the possibility of selling BET to a management-led investor group. BET Chief Executive Officer Scott Mills and billionaire businessman Chinh Chu are reported to be potential buyers. Reports indicate that Paramount Global has considered offers under $2 billion.
Paramount Global CEO Bob Bakish also met with Warner Bros. Discovery CEO David Zaslav on Dec. 19 to hold discussions surrounding a possible merger, Axios reported. Warner Bros. Discovery is valued at approximately $29 billion while Paramount is worth just over $10 billion.
The two companies could potentially bring together their streaming services, Paramount+ and Max. They may also be able to combine CBS News and CNN. However, the discussion between the two media giants is still in the early stages.
