Greenwich billionaire Steve Cohen has reached an agreement to acquire the New York Mets in a deal valued at $2.475 billion ”“ a record-setting amount for a U.S. sports franchise.
The current Mets ownership group is headed by Fred Wilpon, his brother-in-law, Saul Katz, and his son, Jeff, the team’s chief operating officer.
Cohen, the CEO and president of Point72 Asset Management, began negotiations to buy the Mets last year. That attempt collapsed in February, reportedly due to last-minute attempts by the Wilpon family, the current owners of the Mets, to retain more control than had originally been agreed upon.
Cohen bought an 8% limited partnership stake in the team for $40 million in 2012.
In a press release announcing the new deal, Cohen said simply, “I am excited to have reached an agreement with the Wilpon and Katz families to purchase the New York Mets.”
Cohen, who describes himself as a lifelong fan of the Mets, will not take control of SportsNet New York (SNY), the regional TV broadcaster of the team”™s games; Sterling Equities, another Wilpon/Katz company, owns a controlling interest in that firm, whose contract to broadcast Mets games runs through 2030.
The previous record for a sports franchise was the $2.2 billion paid for the NFL”™s Carolina Panthers in 2018. The Cohen/Mets deal also eclipses what had been the highest amount paid for a Major League Baseball team, $2.15 billion for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2012.
The agreement still needs the approval of 23 of the other 29 MLB team owners, who reportedly may balk at the perceived competitive advantage the deep-pocketed Cohen could have. The hedge fund honcho”™s net worth is estimated at $14.6 billion, easily topping the next person on the list, Washington Nationals owners Ted Lerner, at $4.8 billion.
The world”™s richest sports team owner, according to Forbes, is Steve Ballmer, who owns the NBA”™s Los Angeles Clippers and who has a net worth of $52.7 billion.
There is also the matter of Cohen”™s former investment firm S.A.C. Capital Advisors. S.A.C. pleaded guilty to insider trading charges in 2013 and paid $1.8 billion in penalties, though Cohen was never charged as an individual.
In a January 2016 settlement of a related civil suit brought by the SEC, Cohen was prohibited from managing outside money until January 2018.
In the wake of the scandal, Point72 Asset Management was established by Cohen in 2014 and S.A.C. ceased all operations in 2016.
A vote by MLB owners will probably take place at their official meetings scheduled for November.
Earlier this year, Forbes ranked the New York Yankees as MLB”™s highest valued, at $5 billion, followed by the Dodgers at $3.4 billion and the Boston Red Sox at $3.3 billion. The Mets came in sixth at $2.4 billion.
