Paramount in talks to sell BET Network to management-led group – Bloomberg News
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(Reuters)
Paramount Global is in talks to sell its Black Entertainment Television network to a management-led investor group, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.
The potential buyers include BET Chief Executive Officer Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, a former Blackstone executive who runs New York-based CC Capital Partners, the report said.
A price of a little under $2 billion has been discussed, according to the report.
Paramount and CC Capital declined to comment on the report.
Paramount had earlier this year mulled the sale of a majority stake in BET Media Group, which includes the BET cable network, BET Studios and VH1, drawing interest from the likes of Byron Allen, whose Allen Media Group’s assets include The Weather Channel.
The company later dropped the sale process after failing to get satisfactory bids, according to the Bloomberg report.
Chu, who also worked at Salomon Brothers, has helped create five blank-check companies during his time at CC Capital. One of them merged with Getty Images last year to help take the stock-photo company public in the U.S.
Paramount is controlled by the Shari Redstone-led media company that owns 77% of Paramount’s Class A voting shares.
The entertainment conglomerate formed BET Studios in 2021 through a partnership with “Black-ish” creator Kenya Barris, actress Rashida Jones and “S.W.A.T” co-creator Aaron Rahsaan Thomas.
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