Shaquille O’Neal, Kenya Barris and 50 Cent Team Up to Explore Bid for BET Media
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 in ’s BET 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 sa
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
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 in ’s BET 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 bid on 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 assets such 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 BDG in 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]
What's Your Reaction?
