N.Y. Mayor Could Block Cohen's Mets Purchase Under Lease Provision

De Blasio and his office have the legal right to determine whether to approve the sale to CohenGETTY IMAGES

N.Y. Mayor Bill de Blasio "could torpedo" hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen's plans to purchase the Mets before MLB owners are scheduled to vote on Nov. 17 on whether to approve him at their owners' meetings in Dallas, according to Bob Nightengale of USA TODAY. In the '06 Citi Field lease agreement between the Mets and N.Y., there is a provision in which the mayor "can prohibit the sale of the team to a 'prohibited person,' since Citi Field is on New York City owned park land." A prohibited person is defined as being "any person that has been convicted in a criminal proceeding for a felony or any crime involving moral turpitude." Cohen was "never charged with a crime, but in 2013 his former hedge-fund company, S.A.C. Capital Investors, pleaded guilty to securities fraud and wire fraud." De Blasio and his office "have the legal right to determine whether to approve the sale." De Blasio's office "has a 30-day window, which was triggered last week." If de Blasio rejects or even delays the $2.475B sale, the Mets' current ownership "would have to decide whether to simply wait, or re-open the bidding process" (USA TODAY, 10/22).

DUE DILIGENCE? In N.Y., Davidoff, McEnery, Hicks & Sherman cite a source from N.Y. City Hall as saying, "This is just due diligence. It's hard to see this impacting the final deal." Davidoff, McEnery, Hicks & Shermanis write this is "standard operating procedure; the Yankees' lease for Yankee Stadium features identical language" (N.Y. POST, 10/22). In N.Y., Rubinstein & Waldstein write whether de Blasio can or wants to hold up the sale to Cohen "remains to be seen, and any attempt to block the transaction would surely be met with legal challenges." But the process "could put on hold some of the hopes of Cohen and legions of Mets fans, many of whom are eager for Cohen to take over the club before the start of the new year and begin pumping some of his billions into the club's operations and roster" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/22).