NEW YORK — Citing people “with knowledge of the discussions,” Bloomberg is reporting that BET Chief Executive Officer Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, an ex-Blackstone Inc. C-Suiter who today operates CC Capital Partners, are pitching the purchase of the African American-focused cable television network from Paramount Global.
That doesn’t sit well with Byron Allen, the media mogul and Allen Media Group owner. He put in a bid, and it appears to be getting ignored.
While the negotiations are private, insiders tell Bloomberg a price just shy of $2 billion has been discussed.
For Allen, who has been on the record in stating BET should be sold to a Black-owned entity, the Chu/Mills bid pales in comparison to his own. “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 an email sent to Paramount’s executive leadership and Board of Directors on Tuesday.
Allen has offered $3.5 billion for both VH1 and BET.
This follows a previous offer that came in at $3 billion, with four banks and two private equity firms coming together on the bid. That’s also according to Bloomberg, which claims Paramount would have held on to 19% ownership of the networks.
Also voicing criticism of Paramount is Tyler Perry, the acclaimed film maker and TV producer.
