Steve Cohen agrees to purchase Mets for reported $2.4B fee
The New York Mets are changing hands.
Billionaire Steve Cohen has reached an agreement to purchase majority ownership of the Mets from the Wilpon and Katz families, the team announced Monday.
Cohen will own 95% of the franchise once the deal is officially completed, while the Wilpon and Katz families will retain the other 5%, according to Sportico's Scott Soshnick. Cohen currently owns 8% of the team.
The final sale price is thought to be between $2.4 billion and $2.45 billion, sources told Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
That price would set a record for a North American professional sports franchise, topping the $2.275-billion price David Tepper paid for the NFL's Carolina Panthers, according to Sherman. The MLB record is held by the Los Angeles Dodgers, whose current ownership group purchased the team for $2.15 billion, notes Soshnick.
The deal does not include the SNY regional sports network, a source told Sherman.
Cohen must receive approval from 23 of MLB's 30 owners before the sale is finalized. A vote is scheduled to take place during the owners' meetings in November.
The 64-year-old hedge fund manager is a native of Long Island and grew up a Mets fan, according to Soshnick. Cohen's net worth is estimated to be $14 billion.
The Wilpon and Katz families have owned at least a portion of the Mets since 1980 and at least 50% since 1986. Fred Wilpon, the franchise's current chairman and CEO, became the sole majority owner in 2002.
It's been estimated that the Mets have been losing as much as $90 million annually in recent years.
Cohen had a separate deal to buy the Mets fall apart at the eleventh hour earlier this year. His primary competition for the team this summer was a group fronted by former baseball superstar Alex Rodriguez and entertainer Jennifer Lopez.
Other bidders for the Mets included Josh Harris and David Blitzer, co-owners of the NBA's Philadelphia 76ers and NHL's New Jersey Devils.