PARAMOUNT Global is in talks to sell its Black Entertainment Television network to buyers that include BET chief executive officer Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, who runs the New York-based private equity firm CC Capital.
The group has been discussing an offer of US$1.6 billion to US$1.7 billion, sources familiar with the matter said, asking not to be named revealing information that’s not public.
Last year, the same group had discussed an offer of a little under US$2 billion, Bloomberg reported in December. Chu and Mills are rekindling discussions with Paramount for BET after Shari Redstone, who has a controlling stake in Paramount, walked away from a proposed merger with Skydance Media, the company led by David Ellison.
Representatives for Paramount and Chu declined to comment. Mills did not respond to a request for comment.
Paramount, which owns CBS, MTV and other networks, had also previously received an offer from media mogul Byron Allen, who put together a US$3.5 billion bid last year for both BET and the VH1 channel, and emphasised that BET should be Black-owned. Actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry, who is an investor in the BET+ streaming service, also held discussions about purchasing a stake in the larger enterprise.
The sale process last year was “disrespectful”, Perry said at a Bloomberg event last year. “Don’t try to get me to pay for something that’s not worth anywhere near the value” Paramount said it was, he said.
BT in your inbox
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
Founded in 1980 by businessman Robert L Johnson, BET was sold to Paramount’s predecessor, Viacom, in 2001 for about US$3 billion. The network has strong ties to some of the most successful Black entertainment creators, including Perry, Kenya Barris and Rashida Jones, who are investors in the BET Studios production company.
Paramount has said it’s working to cut US$500 million in costs to boost profitability. BLOOMBERG
