Jared Evan
In Early July, Major League Baseball, started accepting bids to buy the NY Mets, and former Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and his fiance Bronx native pop and movie star Jennifer Lopez are now the favorites to be the new owners.
According to Sportico, Major League Baseball had pre-approved seven groups as qualified bidders, plus Rodriguez and J-lo’s bid.
Rodriguez and Lopez retained JP Morgan Chase & Co., to raise funds for their bid, and also have added others with deep pockets, Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola and Queens billionaire Mike Repole to their group.
The bid led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez has become the “clear-cut favorite” to buy the Mets, USA Today reported Sunday, citing the belief of “several MLB executives.”
NY Post reported: There were previously questions about whether the J-Rod group would have enough money to compete with the other bidders — hedge fund billionaire Steve Cohen and another group led by Devils and 76ers owners Josh Harris and David Blitzer. But J-Rod has added Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola and Vitamin Water co-founder Mike Repole to boost their funding.
The Post also noted: Rodriguez and Lopez would reportedly be investing $225 million to $300 million of their own money. Viola is worth about $5 billion and Repole $3 billion, opening the possibility that they could contribute more money than J-Rod — possibly making Rodriguez settle for CEO, but not the controlling Mets owner.
The Mets owners, Fred Wilpon, and son Jeff Wilpon are hoping to sell their franchise by the end of the year. According to Forbes, the Mets are the MLB’s sixth most-valuable franchise at $2.4 billion, trailing the Yankees ($5B), Red Sox (3.3B), Cubs ($3.2B) Giants ($3.1B).
In 1980, Wilpon bought a one-percent stake in the Mets when Charles Shipman Payson sold the team, with publishing company Doubleday & Co. holding the remaining interest. In 1986, Doubleday president Nelson Doubleday, Jr. sold Doubleday & Co., the owner of his interest in the Mets, to Bertelsmann AG. Wilpon had a right of first refusal in the event of a sale and threatened to exercise it. In the resulting settlement, Doubleday and Wilpon agreed to purchase the Mets for $81 million becoming equal partners in the team, Wilpon took full control in 2002, NY Observer reported.
NJ News reported: Due to the coronavirus pandemic crushing the U.S. economy and the Wilpons desire to sell before 2021, it is believed the sale price will be far below $2.4 billion. Mets ownership claim the franchise lost $50 million annually prior to COVID-19, which led to a 3 1/2-month MLB shutdown and a 60-game season that is scheduled to begin on July 23
