The second coming of New York Mets fans’ prodigal son is nigh.
Per multiple reports, hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen and his $13 billion net worth has put in a bid for majority ownership of the MLB club, five months after his initial $2.6 billion pursuit of the team fell through.
Cohen was one of the bidders who put forth an offer for the Mets on the designated deadline day Thursday, joining the group of Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez along with Joshua Harris and David Blitzer.
Per Fox Sports’ Charles Gasparino and Huffington Post contributor Laura Goldman, Cohen’s bid has blown any other offer out of the water, offering $2 billion for the team — which is the number the Wilpons were looking for.
Gasparino notes that Cohen also offered an additional $2 billion for SNY — the only profitable aspect of the Mets right now — to help sweeten the deal. Goldman reported the bid for the Wilpon-owned TV station is around $1.5 billion. Goldman also added that in an “informal survey” of MLB owners, none would vote for a bid that valued the Mets at below $2 billion.
A combined $3.5 billion – $4 billion from Cohen looks as though it will blow any offer out of the water. The New York Post noted Rodriguez and Lopez’s group along with Harris and Blitzer put forth bids of $1.7 billion.
Per Sportico’s Scott Soshnick, the Wilpons and Allen & Co., the investment bank leading the search for a new Mets owner, received five bids on Thursday.
On Thursday, amNewYork Metro also learned that a group of investors featuring 30-year-old CTRL USA CEO, C.K. McWhorter are attempting to put in a bid for the team despite not being on the MLB’s list of seven pre-approved bidders.
At this rate, however, it looks like that pursuit will be futile with the numbers Cohen is putting up.
It’s his team to lose now with the Wilpons being the only thing standing in his way between majority Mets ownership.
