Paramount Global, the powerful conglomerate that oversees several major media networks, has decided to end its auction of a majority stake in one of its most notable properties. BET is no longer on the block, which reportedly caused Paramount to suffer a hit to its stock price.
According to a report from Deadline, shares for Paramount Global dropped 2 percent on Thursday (August 17) following news from yesterday that the company is no longer looking to sell a majority stake in BET, which stands for Black Entertainment Television.
More from Deadline:
A source familiar with the discussions told Deadline that Paramount informed bidders for a stake in BET that the process had been halted because the company concluded it wouldn’t create enough value or result in a meaningful reduction of debt. The company has been looking for opportunities to streamline, and just last week announced the sale of book publishing unit Simon & Schuster to KKR for $1.62 billion.
Among the rumored players vying to purchase the BET stake, Tyler Perry, who has a deal with the network, Sean “Diddy” Combs, and Byron Allen were all considered frontrunners for the purchase. What this means for BET going forward isn’t known, nor can it be confirmed that further efforts for the sale won’t resurface.
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