It seems as though Sheldon Adelson and Silver Lake’s interest in the Mets was all smoke, no fire.
A spokesperson for Silver Lake told amNewYork Metro on Wednesday that the private equity firm is not in pursuit of New York Mets ownership — this coming after a report earlier in the day from the New York Post’s Thornton McEnery disclosing Silver Lakes was teaming up with billionaire casino mogul Sheldon Adelson to join Joshua Harris and David Blitzer’s group.
“Any claim that Silver Lake is making or joining a bid for the NY Mets is entirely false and inaccurate,” the spokesperson told amNewYork Metro.
Fox Business’ Charles Gasparino reported shortly after that an Adelson spokesperson denied any link to a pursuit of Mets ownership. Laura Goldman of the Huffington Post first reported that Adelson may have more interest in developing the land around Citi Field for a casino more than anything.
According to Forbes, Adelson’s net worth is approximately $32 billion. Silver Lake Partners — who reportedly inquired about buying the New York Knicks from James Dolan — is valued at $43 billion, per McEnery.
Such a partnership with Harris and Blitzer would have provided major competition for Steve Cohen — the hedge-fund billionaire valued at roughly $14 billion once believed to have the resources to outbid any interested party for the Mets.
Per reports, Cohen initially bid $2 billion for the Mets last week, which was believed to be the highest offer of the initial process. It’s $600 million less than what he was poised to buy an 80% stake in the club earlier this year before the deal fell through.
The group headlined by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez is believed to have submitted a bid anywhere between $1.7 billion and $2 billion while the Harris and Blitzer group put forth $1.7 billion.
Harris and Blitzer already own stakes in four major professional sports franchises. They are the majority owners of the Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Devils, and Crystal Palace Football Club (England) and recently purchased a minority stake in the Pittsburgh Steelers.
