Bid to Take BET Private Is Raised
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Black Entertainment Television founder Robert L. Johnson on Monday sweetened his bid to take his Washington-based company private, offering $378 million, or $63 a share, for stock held by public investors.
The offer by Johnson and longtime partner Liberty Media Corp., a unit of cable-TV giant Tele-Communications Inc., was accepted by the company’s board but still requires approval by shareholders.
The $63 bid represents a 31% improvement over the $48-a-share offer Johnson and Liberty made in September. That initial bid drew five lawsuits from shareholders, who accused Johnson and Liberty of trying to buy them out at an inadequate price.
It was also rejected as too low in January by a special committee of BET’s board, which consisted of a single member, Delano Lewis of National Public Radio. In a meeting Sunday, Lewis and two other outside board members, including actor Denzel Washington, approved the higher bid. Based on the current offer, all of BET’s three classes of shares would be worth about $1.2 billion.
On Monday, BET shares gained $6.06 to close at $60.56 on the New York Stock Exchange.
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