BET Is Reportedly Back On The Market After Its Stock Rises In The Capital Markets – Essence

BET parent company Paramount Global ‘s stock rose 6% on Tuesday on the latest report the company. Now, BET Media Group, is reportedly back on the market for potential buyers after several reported missed attempts.

Per a Deadline report, a group of investors is holding exclusive talks with Paramount about a bid of $1.6 billion for BET Media Group. Interested parties include BET CEO Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, the head of New York-based private equity firm CC Capital.

Talks of selling the network have been swirling for years, as Tyler Perry and Byron Allen were near purchasers, but both transactions fell through.

As ESSENCE previously reported, in October 2023 Perry recalled his experience trying to strike an ownership deal with the network and ultimately implied that it was a disappointing process.

“I was disappointed about it for a number of reasons,” Perry said at Bloomberg’s Equality Summit per a report from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) in 2023. “The way it happened was disrespectful in a lot of ways.”

He continued, “Don’t try to get me to pay for something that’s not worth anywhere near the value.” Perry also “gave a firm no” when he was asked about his interest in securing ownership of BET if it goes up for sale again. “God bless them. I’m still working with them. I wish them the best,” Perry went on to say per AJC reports.

Now, months later executives recently gathered at Paramount Global shareholder meeting and shared their plans for the company, and that they plan to make moves resulting in $500 million in annual cost savings per Deadline. “We also want to ensure we have the right asset mix to meet this moment,” co-CEO George Cheeks shared. “In fact, we’re already in talks to divest some of our assets to unlock value.”