Billionaire Steve Cohen's purchase of the Mets approved
There are high expectations for Cohen to get the team back into the playoffs and to the World Series
Billionaire Steve Cohen’s purchase of the New York Mets was approved Friday, according to multiple reports.
Cohen needed at least 23 of 30 owners to approve the purchase from Fred Wilpon, brother-in-law Saul Katz, and Wilpon’s son Jeff.
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Cohen will own 95% of the Mets. The sale values the franchise at $2.4 billion to $2.5 billion. The Wilpon family will own 5% of the organization.
The hedge fund manager first bought into the organization when the team sought $20 million in minority investment stakes following the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme scandal, which cost the Wilpon and their companies a vast amount of money. The limited partnership shares were sold after a proposed $200 million sale of a stake of the Mets to hedge fund manager David Einhorn fell through in 2011.
Cohen is the CEO and president of Point72 Asset Management. His first order of business was to make Sandy Alderson the team president under Cohen. He is now the richest owner in baseball
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It’s unclear what the rest of the organization has in store. Luis Rojas was named the team’s manager after Carlos Beltran stepped down over his role in the Houston Astros cheating scandal.
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The Mets have not been in the playoffs since making the World Series in 2015. Cohen has an estimated net worth of $14 billion and is expected to flush the Mets with cash for big offseason purchases.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.