Cohen is expected to get approval from MLB owners, and he is prepared to handle the Mets' debtGETTY IMAGES
The Wilpons want to sell the Mets before the end of the year and hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen is “'almost done' with the process," according to a source cited by Deesha Thosar of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. The "final step" is the MLB owners' vote in November, and a source on Thursday confirmed that Cohen is "expected to secure the necessary three-quarters approval from 23 of 30 owners." The owners "would not risk the Mets going for a lower price" than the expected $2.5B, which "would negatively impact all of their franchise values." One source said that the Alex Rodriguez/Jennifer Lopez bid was "nowhere near Cohen’s, as far as cash on the line," adding that the couple "would not be able to run the Mets with the franchise’s debt." Thosar notes Cohen was "always going to win out against any competitor simply in terms of cash." He is "not only expected to get the approval from MLB owners, but he is better prepared to handle the Mets' debt (estimated between $90 million and $100 million pre-pandemic) and grow the team for the future" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/11).
FISCALLY PRUDENT: On Long Island, Tim Healey writes there is "value to MLB in having an owner as rich as Cohen," whose estimated $13B net worth "suggests he won’t have a problem paying for the team or running it." Former Marlins President David Samson said, “My personal view is the Mets would not give exclusivity to Steve Cohen if they didn’t know he had the votes. There is a huge interest in Major League Baseball in having an owner of the Mets who is not at all like the Jeter-Sherman group, where they cobbled the money together.” Healey notes whereas Cohen is an "extremely wealthy individual, the A-Rod group of investors has the same vibe as Jeter’s Miami effort, when it took him months to find enough investors to make an appropriate bid." Entering exclusive talks with Cohen is the Mets "signaling that the end of the process is near" (NEWSDAY, 9/11).
