Tyler Perry has submitted a final takeover bid for Black Entertainment Television Group — however it falls a whopping $1 billion short of the $3 billion that owner Paramount Global has been asking, The Post has learned.
The “Madea” creator has offered $2 billion for BET Group — whose properties include cable channels BET and VH1 together with the BET+ streaming service — to fulfill Paramount’s final bidding deadline last week, in accordance with insiders.
“I’ve heard he’s at two or under two,” a source near the situation told The Post.
The underwhelming bid from frontrunner Perry — who already owns a 25% stake in BET+ and has private equity backing for his offer — further raises doubts as as to whether BET will get sold in any respect.
That’s despite the incontrovertible fact that Paramount is eager to unload BET together with other legacy assets including the Simon & Schuster publishing house, in accordance with sources briefed on the negotiations.
On one hand, Perry’s lowball offer leaves the door open for one other suitor, the comedian-turned-media-mogul Byron Allen, who put in a bid of roughly $2.7 billion, in accordance with one source near the auction.
![Tyler Perry in a denim jacket](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/07/NYPICHPDPICT000013459994.jpg?w=1024)
Nevertheless, it’s not clear whether Allen — who has amassed a media empire that features the Weather Channel — currently has enough financing to finish the deal, multiple sources said.
Paramount’s asking price amounts to roughly 10 times the BET Group’s current $325 million in Ebitda, or earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, sources said.
But BET Group’s future profits are in danger as cord-cutting continues to hammer the ranks of US cable subscribers.
Paramount desired to see committed financing when final bids got here in July 19, sources said.
Paramount boss Shari Redstone — whose father Sumner Redstone paid $2.7 billion for BET in 2000 when the media empire still operated under the Viacom banner — is predicted to make a decision whether to just accept or reject the lowball offers in the approaching days.
“It is a dysfunctional company. Nothing they do surprises me,” a source near the method said.
Perry, Allen and Paramount didn’t return calls for comment.
![Byron Allen walking in a restaurant.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000010197932.jpg?w=1024)
Paramount’s other properties include CBS, MTV, Paramount Pictures, the recently launched Paramount+ streaming service and book publisher Simon & Schuster, which reportedly has attracted interest from KKR and News Corp’s HarperCollins.
Perry has a $150 million per yr deal to offer content for BET that expires in 2024. Sources said he could look for a more lucrative deal from a streamer like Netflix next yr when his contract expires as a substitute of buying BET.
Those that are considering financing a BET buyout said they’ve gotten past initial concerns that Perry might stop programming shows for BET if he doesn’t buy the network, a lender near the method said.
That’s because banks have reached the conclusion that younger, cheaper talent might make more sense for BET than paying Perry $150 million a yr.
“Tyler is being overpaid for his content,” the lender said. “There are lots of individuals who want to provide for BET and would do it for less.”
![Chairman of ViacomCBS Shari Redstone in a red jacket](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/08/Shari-Redstone.jpg?w=1024)
Perry also has some series contracts that transcend 2024 and BET can air programming he has already produced after he’s gone.
A sale to 1 of the outstanding black bidders would allow either one to draw more cash from advertisers who allocate part of their budget to minority-owned broadcasters, a source said.
Despite BET’s audience being mainly African-Americans, it doesn’t count as a minority-owned business since Redstone controls Paramount, the source added.
The auction is being run by investment banks Seibert Williams and JPMorgan, sources near the situation said.