Prospective Mets minority equity partner David Einhorn said Thursday he is not concerned with Owner Fred Wilpon’s recent comments on the team bleeding cash, and added he anticipates a turnaround for the franchise both fiscally and competitively on the field. "I expect the financial fortunes [of the team] to improve," Einhorn said. "I'm very comfortable with where we're headed. In fact, I'm excited." Einhorn declined to discuss elements of his $200M investment or club operations in any significant detail. But said he quickly struck a strong relationship with Wilpon and gave high marks to GM Sandy Alderson. "He strikes me as a first-rate executive. … I think he's fantastic," he said. "As long as we stay under his leadership, the Mets will end up in a good direction." Einhorn intends the investment to be a long-term play, he will have no control over team operations, and said that his reputation as a short seller and noted corporate critic at Greenlight Capital is greatly overstated. "We do more on the long side [at Greenlight], and we own much more than we short," he said. The Mets deal, however, is strictly a personal investment for him, and has nothing to do with Greenlight. Einhorn did confirm that the deal does not include any interest in SNY. "I have no interest in owning a TV station. … That was never part of our negotiations” (Eric Fisher, SportsBusiness Journal).
HERE TO HELP YOU OUT: In N.Y., Kosman, Sherman & Puma report Einhorn's proposed deal will leave Wilpon and Mets President Saul Katz "in charge of the franchise and should keep them out of financial trouble for at least two years." Both sides Thursday said they hope to complete the sale next month, and a source said, "There is a much better than 50-50 chance a deal happens." Sources noted that Einhorn's parents, who live in Milwaukee, "are friends" with MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, who used to own the Brewers. An MLB source indicated that Einhorn's "calculation is he gets the right of first refusal to buy a majority stake if Wilpon and Katz can't settle" the lawsuit from Bernie Madoff trustee Irving Picard "for $200 million or so." Einhorn Thursday said, "I'm very comfortable with the financial arrangement we're contemplating" (N.Y. POST, 5/27). Einhorn would not say "whether this agreement includes a right-of-first refusal, which would allow Einhorn the first crack at a majority stake should the Wilpons decide to sell" (Newark STAR-LEDGER, 5/27). Einhorn emphasized that his investment in the Mets is "personal and not related to any of the $8 billion or so he manages at Greenlight." He sent an e-mail to investors "to clarify the distinction and acknowledged that he understood that rehabilitating a troubled franchise would not be swift or easy" (N.Y. TIMES, 5/27).
JUST WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED: In N.Y., Thompson, Coffey & O'Keeffe write Einhorn "appears to be everything the Mets owners said they were looking for in January," when Wilpon and COO Jeff Wilpon said that they "hoped to find a partner but wished to retain control of the franchise." During his conference call Thursday, Einhorn "repeatedly said he would let the Wilpons continue to call the shots." He declined to reveal how much of the team he is acquiring for $200M, "but it is believed to be somewhere between 25% and 40%." Einhorn and the Mets "called the conference because they believed the name of the investor would be leaked" before the deal is complete. Einhorn: "It reached a stage where it made sense. More people had to be brought into the loop. We thought it would be better to discuss it publicly instead of worrying about leaks" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/27). Also in N.Y., Mike Lupica writes in the "short run the Mets get the money they need, if Einhorn is approved by Commissioner Bud Selig, and they start to pay off debt and loans, and they wait to see how their rock fight with Picard turns out in the end." Fred Wilpon does not have to "sell off a majority stake" in the team, and he "gets a young guy with money who seems thrilled to be buying into the Mets, even with everything that has happened to them lately." Einhorn Thursday "sounded like what he is, exactly: A Mets fan with a ton of dough who wants to get in the game this way, doesn't come in hot, looking to sign free agents and make trades" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/27). In N.Y., Mike Vaccaro writes, "It may turn out that David Einhorn’s money is only the first of his contributions to salvaging the Mets. He brings confidence and competence to a club that’s been sorely short on both in recent years. It would be wise for the Wilpons to pay attention" (N.Y. POST, 5/27).
NOT OUT OF THE WOODS YET: On Long Island, Ken Davidoff writes Einhorn's "potential minority investment is still, for now, just a Band-Aid." His presence "doesn't bring closure to chaos that has existed inside the Mets since Bernard Madoff's arrest in December 2008." Davidoff: "As long as the Wilpons are running the team, and as long as they remain at odds with Picard -- and maybe beyond then -- you can set your watch to more unwanted drama despite the presence of ultra-capable general manager Sandy Alderson. The better news for Mets fans is that a stronger, longer-term resolution now lurks in the periphery, and that's hedge-fund mogul Einhorn purchasing controlling interest of the team from the Wilpons and Saul Katz. At the outset, he looks like a welcome arrival to the Mets' universe" (NEWSDAY, 5/27). Meanwhile, the N.Y. DAILY NEWS' Thompson & O'Keeffe report Katz and Fred Wilpon filed a motion in U.S. District Court Thursday "seeking to move the highly contentious lawsuit filed against them" by Picard from bankruptcy court into federal court. The motion "seeks to move the case out of Burton R. Lifland's court and into the Southern District of New York on the basis" of Picard's "broad interpretation of bankruptcy law and conflicts with federal law" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/27).
