Wilpon's stupidity cost them $250m in value

[Scott Dierking]

All because they wanted to give Jeffy a role for 5 seasons. Saul Katz should be pissed. Good for Cohen.

https://www.sportico.com/leagues/baseball/2020/steve-cohen-new-york-mets-bid-1234612463/

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STEVE COHEN’S METS BID VALUES TEAM AT ABOUT $2.35 BILLION

 

BY SCOTT SOSHNICK

 

An agreement for Steve Cohen to buy the Mets may be reached within a week.AP / DESIGNED BY MARIO PAULIS

Steve Cohen’s bid on the New York Mets values the Major League Baseball team at about $2.35 billion, $250 million less than what he had agreed to pay in December, according to two people familiar with the process.

Cohen is in exclusive talks to acquire the team from the Wilpon and Katz families, the clearest indication yet that that hedge fund titan will be the club’s new owner.

An agreement may be reached within a week, said the people, who were granted anonymity because the deal isn’t signed.

Allen & Co., the investment bank overseeing the sale process, declined to comment on specifics of the bid. A spokesman for Cohen, a Long Island native who grew up rooting for the Mets, declined to comment.

 

Cohen, who already holds an 8% stake in the franchise, was in talks in December to acquire up to 80% of the team in a deal that valued the franchise at $2.6 billion. That deal would’ve allowed the Wilpons to retain control of the club for five years and kept Jeff Wilpon in place as the team’s chief operating officer for that time.

Those talks fell apart, prompting the Mets to seek a new buyer. Besides Cohen, the other bidders for the team were groups led by Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils owner Josh Harris and one fronted by former big-league star Alex Rodriguez, who withdrew his offer when Cohen was granted exclusivity.

Cohen’s previous offer was made prior to the COVID-19 shutdown of professional sports, which is costing MLB franchises hundreds of millions in revenue due to games being played without fans.

Prior to the pandemic, the Mets lost at least $50 million a year. That could swell to $200 million this season, accounting for the lower valuation. The current owners acquired a controlling stake in the franchise for $391 million in 2002.

MLB is attempting to play an abbreviated 60-game season, down from the usual 162, because of the pandemic. The Mets are 15-20 this season.

[Jet Nut]

Got to leave it to the Wilson’s.  

Shrewd 

[Philc1]

The Wilpons are as bad as Dolan and Woody they just haven’t had a salary cap to deal with 

[TuscanyTile2]

On 9/3/2020 at 9:36 AM, Philc1 said:

The Wilpons are as bad as Dolan and a Woody they just haven’t had a salary cap to deal with 

Dolan is a tremendous owner, when it comes to hockey. 

[Philc1]

23 hours ago, TuscanyTile2 said:

Dolan is a tremendous owner, when it comes to hockey. 

Dolan is a horrible owner but actually a good businessman.  The Wilpons and Woody are both terrible owners and terrible businessmen

[BROOKLYN JET]

Jeff Wilpon was conspiring with A-Rod to retain operational role.

[BROOKLYN JET]

 

[Scott Dierking]

12 hours ago, BROOKLYN JET said:

Jeff Wilpon was conspiring with A-Rod to retain operational role.

I have not read that, but would not be surprised. That would have been a big mess. Glad that Saul Katz was the adult in the room.

[BROOKLYN JET]

On 9/16/2020 at 7:52 AM, Scott Dierking said:

I have not read that, but would not be surprised. That would have been a big mess. Glad that Saul Katz was the adult in the room.

 

[Scott Dierking]

9 hours ago, BROOKLYN JET said:

 

The Arod/JLo group tried everything to curry the highest favor by:

-Promoting that JLO would be fronting the team ,thus encouraging that a minority (woman and latino) would be the face of the org.

-Shilling that Jeffy could still have a huge job in the org.

-Trying to gain exclusivity by forcing them to engage with them solo, trying to get the jump on Cohen, only to have that backfire.

Imagine being so toxic (Arod) that the Mets had decided that working with Steve Cohen, whom Jeffy hated personally, paid penalties for supposed insider trading and had discrimination suits against, is considered to be a better solution. 

This tells you what baseball as a whole thinks of ARod.

[section314]

8 hours ago, Scott Dierking said:

The Arod/JLo group tried everything to curry the highest favor by:

-Promoting that JLO would be fronting the team ,thus encouraging that a minority (woman and latino) would be the face of the org.

-Shilling that Jeffy could still have a huge job in the org.

-Trying to gain exclusivity by forcing them to engage with them solo, trying to get the jump on Cohen, only to have that backfire.

Imagine being so toxic (Arod) that the Mets had decided that working with Steve Cohen, whom Jeffy hated personally, paid penalties for supposed insider trading and had discrimination suits against, is considered to be a better solution. 

This tells you what baseball as a whole thinks of ARod.

Would not mind Sandy as an advisor. Can help Cohen show Brodie the door.

[Scott Dierking]

2 hours ago, section314 said:

Would not mind Sandy as an advisor. Can help Cohen show Brodie the door.

The fact is that the Mets have developed and promoted quite a few of their core unit over the last 5 years. Many of those players were drafted and were developed under Sandy's system.

Now, Sandy has never seemed fond of signing high profile free agents. He has seemed to want to find the bargains. That may have been a byproduct of the Wilpons, and the small market mentality of the Athletics.

I always liked Sandy while he was here.