S. Samuel
Bad Boy Records CEO Diddy recently talked about being a part of the massive bidding war for Fuse TV this year and how he felt his offer was treated as bait to other interested buyers.
According to reports, Puffy acknowledged coming up short and admitted it was the nature of doing business.
Rapper and style icon Sean Combs, who’s chairman and co-founder of Revolt TV, says that the music channel was “used as a pawn” in the auction for Fuse, which the parent of Jennifer Lopez‘ NuvoTV agreed to buy last month. His bid in March, estimated at $200M, fell short when Fuse owner MSG agreed to SiTV’s offer of $226M and a 15% stake in the company. “It’s cool. That’s the way business works,” Combs said at a panel at The Cable Show in LA. (Deadline)
Recent reports revealed music diva Jennifer Lopez’s NuvoTV network put up nearly $230 million for the channel.
UPDATED: NuvoTV, where Jennifer Lopez serves as chief creative officer and owns a minority stake, reached a deal to buy the cable channel from the Madison Square Garden Company. NuvoTV, the English-language cable channel where Jennifer Lopez is a minority owner and serves as the network’s chief creative offer, has reached an agreement to acquire Fuse from Madison Square Garden Company for $226 million. (Hollywood Reporter)
Details of Puff Daddy’s hefty bid scattered across the Internet a few months ago.
Sean Combs wants to light a fuse under his new cable network Revolt. The hip-hop mogul is said to have made a bid to buy Fuse, a music channel owned by Madison Square Garden Co. The bid comes after Combs launched his own music cable network Revolt TV last year. If Combs is successful in his efforts to acquire Fuse, he would most likely replace it with Revolt. Fuse is in over 70 million homes, while Revolt, which only launched last fall, is in a fraction of that. The rap star offered $200 million for Fuse, according to Bloomberg News. That is far less than the more than $300 million that New York-based MSG sought when it put the music cable channel up for a possible sale last year, a former Fuse executive said. (Los Angeles Times)
Reports also claimed Puff tried to get his hands on Fuse in recent years.
This is not the first time Combs has made a run at Fuse. He was part of a group of potential buyers that made an offer a few years ago, the former Fuse staffer said. A representative for Revolt TV declined to comment. An MSG spokesman said, “as we have stated, we are exploring strategic alternatives for Fuse, and will have no further comment during what is still an ongoing process.” (Los Angeles Times)
