The day is finally here. New York Mets fans can rejoice and sleep well tonight knowing Steve Cohen will have majority ownership over the team.
The Sterling Partners today announced they signed an agreement with Cohen and the deal will be finalized pending the approval of Major League Baseball club owners. The deal requires at least 23 “Yes” votes. Sources expect MLB owners will agree to the change in ownership.
“I am excited to have reached an agreement with the Wilpon and Katz families to purchase the New York Mets,” Cohen said in a statement.
Cohen, 64, who is worth roughly $14 billion, will pay a record $2.4 to $2.45 billion, the most ever for a North American sports team. Further, he will have a 95% stake in ownership with Wilpon and Katz maintaining 5% of control.
The lifelong Mets fan currently owns 8% stake in the team and continued his pursuit for majority control despite previous negotiations falling through in November 2019.
For Mets fans, the allure to Cohen might be in his willingness to spend a lot of money on the team he grew up rooting for. For some, the beauty lies in that this deal means Wilpon is basically out of the picture after refusing to spend.
Either way, Cohen is being welcomed openly to the Amazin’s, where he will hopefully make a splash during the offseason and turn this mediocre ship around.
Photo: Laura Nicholson/Reuters
