Cohen appears to be confident that he could bid the highest amount for the Mets if he got back in the mixGETTY IMAGES
Billionaire Steve Cohen has "not given up on buying the Mets," and he could want the team's "majority stake in cable network SNY to justify a new bid anywhere near" the Wilpons' $3B valuation, according to sources cited by Thornton McEnery of the N.Y. POST. What still "remains unclear is whether the Wilpons have any interest in selling SNY or dealing with Cohen a second time." The Wilpons own 65% of the net, and sources said that it is valued between $850M-$1B, with gross earnings near $150M annually. Considering the Mets are "thought to lose" $50M in an average year, SNY "would be hugely useful in any sale of the organization." The Wilpons are "moving forward with the plan to sell the Mets in an auction," but attempting to "determine how far along they are in that process results in a murky picture." One source said, "They clearly don't want to sell to Steve Cohen." Sources said that Cohen is "equally not thrilled by the idea of negotiating with the Wilpons again." They added that Cohen's next offer "might not be much higher" than the $2.6B he offered "without SNY and with the five-year window in place." The sources said that Cohen is "increasingly certain no bid will come close, even with SNY in the mix" (N.Y. POST, 2/20).
