BET is reportedly no longer up for sale.
According to the New York Post, Paramount Global moved to end the bidding process for a majority stake in BET Media Group, which includes VH1 and BET Studios, streamer BET+, and the BET channel.
Diddy, Byron Allen, Tyler Perry, and a team including 50 Cent, Shaq, and Kenya Barris were reportedly among the bidders interested in purchasing the media group.
According to the Post, Paramount Global set an asking price of $3 billion. Perry, who already owns a 25 percent stake in BET+, reportedly submitted a $2 billion bid for the majority stake. Over the past few weeks, Paramount was pushing Perry to up his offer, but he declined, the Post reports.
A source told the Post that Paramount was looking to “return the asset to Black ownership” with a “party that could be a good partner and responsible steward of the assets and the mission” through the purchase but came up short.
“We made this decision because the benefits of maintaining a majority stake in BET Media Group creates more value for Paramount than any of the proposals we received,” the source added, noting that the sale wouldn’t “result in any meaningful deleveraging of Paramount’s balance sheet.”
Paramount reportedly declined to take Allen up on his offer of $3 billion despite it reaching the company’s asking price.
“Paramount did not want to sell BET to Byron Allen,” a source said, per the Post.
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