Steve Cohen Unlikely to Reach Mets Deal, Commissioner Says

(Bloomberg) -- The commissioner of Major League Baseball said that billionaire Steve Cohen’s takeover of the New York Mets is unlikely to proceed, adding weight to the idea that the deal is doomed.

“My belief is there’s not going to be a transaction,” Rob Manfred told reporters Thursday at the owners’ meetings in Orlando, Florida.

Cohen said in December that he was in talks with the owners of the Mets to acquire up to 80% of the team in which he is already an investor. The transaction would have valued the club at a baseball-record $2.6 billion.

As part of the deal, the parties said that Fred Wilpon would remain the team’s principal owner for at least five years -- after which Cohen would control the franchise. Jeff Wilpon, his son, would stay on as the team’s chief operating officer for the same period.

One difficult issue to resolve was when Cohen, 63, would assume control. Neither the Mets nor a spokesman for Cohen would comment as to where talks stand.

The New York Post reported earlier this week that the discussions had collapsed because the Mets owners changed the terms at a late stage.

Cohen -- whose net worth is $9.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index -- is the owner of Point72 Asset Management. His former firm, SAC Capital Advisors, pleaded guilty to securities fraud in 2013 and paid a record fine as part of a U.S. crackdown on insider trading on Wall Street.

The deal falling apart would be a blow to Mets fans who were hoping new ownership would infuse the team with more money to acquire free agents. The team payroll this past season was $160 million, 10th in MLB.

To contact the reporter on this story: Scott Soshnick in New York at ssoshnick@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Rob Golum

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