Paramount Global stock was up 2% Wednesday morning with a new report that management of BET was engaged in talks to buy the unit.
Media mogul Byron Allen has also made a $3.5 billion offer to buy BET, per reports.
Paramount shares have already been elevated on reports that controlling shareholder Shari Redstone is considering selling the company.
BET was up for sale earlier this year, but Paramount decided that none of the bids brought the company the value it was seeking and called off the divestiture. At that time, Allen was among the bidders with a $2.7 billion offer.
The management buyout talks, according to Bloomberg, are being led by BET CEO Scott Mills and Chinh Chu, a former Blackstone Inc. executive who runs New York-based CC Capital Partners.
The potential price is in the $2 billion range, Bloomberg said. Paramount predecessor Viacom paid about $3 billion for BET in 2000.
Allen reportedly sent a letter to Paramount saying that BET management would not be able to pay was much as he is willing to offer.
Paramount had no comment on the BET report.
Wells Fargo analyst Steven Cahall upgraded his rating of Paramount stock to “equal weight” because of the increased probability of a Paramount merger or acquisition in 2024.
Earlier this month, when reports spread that Redstone was talking to RedBird Capital and Skydance Media, Paramount stock jumped 12% and Cahall saw “a decent possibility” that a deal would get done.
In a research note Wednesday, Cahall said now there’s a 50% chance of an acquisition of control of National Amusements, the Redstone family holding company.
Cahall said that a deal might push Paramount shares to $23 a share, compared with its value without a deal of $12 a share. The analyst takes an average of $23 and $12 for a target price of $18 a share.
Whoever acquires Paramount would likely divest assets.
Pluto TV could be sold for $1.3 billion, the CBS Television Network for $5 billion and its owned-and-operated stations for $4 billion, Cahall said.
