Billionaire hedge fund titan Steven A. Cohen has entered exclusive talks to buy the New York Mets and is set to reach a deal for the Major League Baseball franchise within days, according to a person familiar with the process.
The news was first reported on Twitter by co-anchor for CNBC’s Squawk on the Street David Faber. Cohen fended off a bid from a consortium led by Alex Rodriguez and singer-producer Jennifer Lopez, and another by private equity billionaires Josh Harris and David Blitzer, CNBC reported.
“Alex and I are so disappointed,” Lopez said in a tweet, adding that the couple “still hasn’t given up!!”
The Rodriguez-led group is believed to have offered as much as $2.3 billion in their bid, CNBC reported. The Mets owner will encounter losses of more than $100 million this year and in 2021 given the pandemic impact, CNBC said, citing people close to the negotiations.
Cohen, who almost sealed a deal to buy an 80% stake in the Major League Baseball team for around $2.6 billion late in 2019, had not reached a definitive agreement but was expected to do so within days, the report added.
Cohen, who already has a 4% stake in the Mets, had ended the earlier talks with owners, the Wilpon family, in February reportedly due to issues related to closing costs.
The Mets are 14-16 this season, four games out of first place in the National League East.
Source: Bloomberg
