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Shaquille O’Neal, Kenya Barris and 50 Cent Team Up to Explore Bid for BET Media​

The celebrities are working with Group Black, CVC Capital and Authentic Brands on potential deal for owner of VH1, BET​

Shaquille O’Neal, a retired basketball star, is part of a consortium that could bid for BET Media Group.
PHOTO: KATHERINE TYLER/NBAE VIA GETTY IMAGES

By Jessica Toonkel and Alexandra Bruell
May 5, 2023 2:52 pm ET

A group including basketball legend Shaquille O’Neal, TV producer Kenya Barris and rapper 50 Cent is among the potential bidders for a majority stake inParamount Global’sBET Media Group, according to people familiar with the situation.

The three celebrities have teamed up with Group Black—a company that aims to invest in and grow Black-owned media firms—private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners and Authentic Brands Group, which develops and licenses its brands to retail operators, the people said.

Other celebrities are looking to bidon BET Media Group, which includes the VH1 and BET cable networks and BET+ streaming service. Actor-producer Tyler Perry has joined with private-equity firm Ariel Alternatives, a subsidiary of asset-management company Ariel Investments, according to people familiar with the situation.

Additionally, investment firm HarbourView Equity Partners has joined with music icon Sean “Diddy” Combs and his company, Revolt, to explore a bid, according to people familiar with the situation.
Paramount Global is looking to sell noncore assetssuch as its majority stake in BET as it seeks to shore up resources to focus on its flagship streaming service, Paramount+. The company this week posted a $1.1 billion quarterly loss, including a $511 million adjusted operating loss in its streaming business. The company said it was cutting its dividend for the first time in several years.
Bids for BET Media Group are due later this month, the people familiar with the situation said.

Advertisers over the past few years have increasingly sought to spend more with minority-owned outlets. One of the goals of Group Black, which was created in 2021, is to increase the amount of Black-owned media, including by acquiring high-profile media brands. Group Black has also looked at buying Vice Media and Bustle parent BDGin the past, but deals never materialized, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Byron Allen, a media entrepreneur whose Allen Media Broadcasting owns such assets as the Weather Channel and several local television stations, also said through a spokesman that he is interested in acquiring control of BET.

Some of the potential bidders, such as Mr. Perry and Mr. Barris, already have close ties with BET. Mr. Perry owns a minority stake in the BET+ streaming service. Mr. Barris is a minority stakeholder in BET Studios, a production arm of BET, along with Rashida Jones and Aaron Rahsaan Thomas.

Founded in 1980 by Robert Johnson with backing from cable mogul John Malone, Black Entertainment Television was the first national programming service primarily targeting Black viewers. Viacom, which is now called Paramount Global, acquired BET in 2000 for $2.3 billion in stock and the assumption of $570 million in debt.
Write to Jessica Toonkel at [email protected] and Alexandra Bruell at [email protected]

https://www.wsj.com/articles/shaqui...team-up-to-explore-bid-for-bet-media-d9ffef45

 

[Little Mac]

I like 50 Cent. Always entertaining. Off topic but anyone here remember 50 Cent clowning Mayweather with the ALS Ice Bucket challenge?



Or his loyalty and respect towards Eminem ...



Regardless, I don't think I've ever seen or heard a boring interview involving 50 Cent.

 

[Jinzo Prime]

There isn't a lot that Paramount gains from keeping BET, especially in the streaming era. If Shaq, Perry, Barris, and Jackson have a plan, for the network, then I support the buyout.

 

[Dr. Claus]

Would be better for humanity if that channel went the way of the dodo.

 

[Billbofet]

Is it possible it was sold for $.50 and not to 50 cent?

 

[TGO]

I hope they bring some diversity to the network
Nah seriously, for the last 40 years I never even questioned it.
But today?
Could you imagine if there was a WET.network......Oh, that sounds intriguing actually

 

[LiquidMetal14]

I look forward to a black Tom Brady and white Shaft

 

[billthomas696969]

Let’s go back to the glory days of VH1 running Jon Secada, Michael Bolton, and Celine Dion videos all day

 

[Lasha]

Fuck those celebs. I'm hoping Tyler Perry's group wins out. Madea Makes a Media Empire needs to be a thing.

 

[StreetsofBeige]

50 cent? I thought that guy claimed bankruptcy 10 years ago.

 

[chromhound]

Damn people still watch BET lol. B.E.T Uncut used to be the shit