As Jon Heyman reported yesterday, the Mets were expected to accept the first round of bids by Thursday. Cohen was one of a handful of bidders that also included Josh Harris and David Blitzer, Álex Rodríguez and Jennifer Lopez, and the Reuben brothers.
Cohen and the Wilpons were believed to be in agreement on a deal back in December that would have increased Cohen’s ownership share from 8% to 80% in exchange for $2.6 billion. However, the deal fell through as Cohen grew upset the Wilpons attempted to change the terms of the agreement at the last minute. The two sides have, obviously, patched up their differences.
As Sportico’s Scott Soshnick notes, the offers in the first round of bidding are non-binding. At any rate, given Cohen’s preliminary offer, the Wilpons are likely to collect quite the windfall. Fred Wilpon bought a 50% stake in the Mets for $81 million in 1980 and bought the other half in 2002 for $391 million.
Perhaps with different owners, the Mets could get back to being consistently competitive. Since 2012, the club has sat in the middle-third of the league (rank 11-20) or lower in terms of total payroll.
Prospective Mets buyers are supposed to have bids in by tomorrow. Steve Cohen, the hedge fund guy from Great Neck, is back to being seen as perhaps the favorite. He’s believed to have patched up any previous differences w/Mets ownership. Plus, he’s reportedly worth $10B plus.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 8, 2020
Cohen isn't without competition, as Heyman noted:
But he looks to be the lead candidate to buy the Mets from Wilpon.
In addition to Steve Cohen, others thought to be interested in the Mets include Josh Harris-David Blitzer, A-Rod/J-Lo (with Mike Repole, Vinny Viola, others), the Reuben Bros. and at least 1 or 2 mystery bidders. $2B seems like a reasonable target price, more if SNY is included.
— Jon Heyman (@JonHeyman) July 8, 2020
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