Renowned hip-hop mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs, America’s most recent Black billionaire, has joined fellow African-American business moguls Tyler Perry and Byron Allen in the race to acquire a majority stake in the BET Media Group, a U.S. basic cable channel that caters specifically to African-American viewers.
Paramount Global, the parent company of BET Media Group, announced last week that it is exploring the sale of a controlling interest in the business, including BET, VH1, and the BET+ streaming service.
By selling off BET, Paramount could unlock significant value for the media asset, as executives noted that the company may be particularly attractive to a consortium of wealthy black individuals and institutions, which could unlock more value than it could under its current corporate ownership.
With his gaze on BET, Diddy plans to build multi-billion-dollar black-owned media giant
Combs is looking to join the fight for acquiring a majority stake in BET as part of his strategy to build a Black-owned multibillion-dollar global media powerhouse, with media moguls Byron Allen and Tyler Perry already expressing interest in the diversified media group.
Despite expressing interest in BET, Combs has yet to enter talks with Paramount to purchase the majority stake, as the company is not yet in talks with any parties at this point in the process.
Having achieved enormous success as a musician, Combs has diversified his portfolio to include music, fashion, drinks, and TV ventures. His major wealth comes from his partnership with Diageo to create Cîroc Vodka, which he guided to multibillion-dollar status in 2007.
In 2013, he launched REVOLT Media & TV, the first Black-owned multiplatform cable music network, and has since expanded his empire with new businesses such as Empower Global, formally Shop Circulate, Our Fair Share, Love Records, and cannabis distribution by acquiring Cresco Labs.
He recently announced plans to expand his empire with the rebranding of his parent company, Combs Enterprises, to Combs Global.
The new portfolio remix represents an ambitious global expansion of Combs’ music, entertainment, fashion, spirits, and media/television companies, firmly establishing him as a major player in the global entertainment landscape.
