If you’re a regular reader of this here ShaqFu Radio blog – and we know you are – you know that the big man is very, very big in business and investments. Today, the story of what could have been one of his biggest ever…but alas, it didn’t quite work out (for now).
Behind the scenes and without a lot of media attention – up till now – O’Neal and a couple of big-name friends were in talks to possibly purchase BET Media Group. BET – also known as Black Entertainment Television is currently owned by Paramount Global, which also owns the CBS TV network and many other media properties.
Along with the flagship BET Network property, the deal proposed by Paramount would have also included a majority stake in BET Media Group, which includes BET’s cable network, production studios, online service BET+ and music channel VH1.
Shaq’s group included rapper Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 Cent, and TV and movie producer / director Tyler Perry, among other investors. The numbers were really, really big. Paramount was asking $3 billion dollars for the network and the full package of properties. O’Neal’s group came back with a substantially lower offer of just $2 billion. Still, a lot of money!
Both O’Neal and Jackson took to Instagram to share their reactions to the news. Jackson said in a post the deal simply was not worth $3 billion that Paramount was asking for.
The New York Post broke the news, saying: “Paramount Global has scrapped an auction of Black Entertainment Group as bids from prospective buyers including media mogul Tyler Perry were disappointing, sources told The Post.” (From an article by Post business writers, Josh Kosman and Alexandra Steigrad.)
No matter the price, the deal would have been only for a minority stake in the package…Paramount would have maintained majority ownership. An unnamed source “close to” Paramount said, “We made this decision because the benefits of maintaining a majority stake in BET Media Group creates more value for Paramount than any of the proposals we received.”
Originally, Tyler Perry had been very excited over the possibility of owning BET. He’s one of the networks’s most influential and prolific creators. When the idea first surfaced, he told reporters, “When this came up, I thought, ‘Wow, this is meant to be.”
The Post says the offer from O’Neal’s group wasn’t the only one on the table. The NY Post says Paramount received another offer from Byron Allen, a comedian-turned-media mogul as well. And while that offer was much closer to the $3 billion asking price, Paramount didn’t pursue negotiations.
While it’s certainly a disappointing result for O’Neal, Jackson and Perry, the group seems to be focused on its next move based on O’Neal’s and Jackson’s Instagram posts.
As for Shaq himself, his Instagram post may have offered a clue. The big man simply wrote, “We’ll get ‘em next time.” Perhaps another offer is in the wings. Stay tuned!