Wilpon's Are to Blame for Killing Sale of Mets to Steve Cohen
In the end it's on the Wilpon's. It's always on the Wilpon's.
After initial reports indicated Tuesday that billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen was backing out of a $2.6 billion sale to purchase the New York Mets from Fred and Jeff Wilpon, details about why the deal fell through are starting to leak out.
According to the New York Post the deal died because Jeff Wilpon wanted more power and say in the franchise's operation -- even with Cohen as the majority owner. The Wilpon's wanted Jeff to maintain control of the team through the five year transitional window and maintain a senior position within the organization after Cohen took over.
There was no way Cohen was going to accept having the Wilpon's hang around with total control for that long and he got out of the deal.
There is also a rumor that Cohen was trying to change the financial terms of the deal as well.
Either way Cohen is not going to buy the Mets, and expressed his disappointment and thanked Mets fans for their support.
"I want to thank the fans for their support and the respect they showed me and I want to thank Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB for their support through the process. I gave it my best shot."
The question now is what will the Mets do moving forward? For the interim, and the foreseeable future the Wilpon's will remain the heads of the organization. How long that will be the case is anyone's guess.
The Wilpon's issued a statement after the sale fell through that they are "pursuing a new transaction and have engaged Allen and Company to manage the process."
There is also the belief that the Wilpon family wants to sell the team and does not want Jeff to run the franchise for much longer. There is a desire to get out.
The problem the Mets and the Wilpon's face is very simple: who will ever want to work with them on a sale? Can they even be trusted at this point? And will the Mets find another billionaire like Steve Cohen with $13 billion to his name to buy the team?
It's hard to imagine. Remember this is now the second time the Mets have tried and failed to sell the team because the Wilpon's own personal greed got in the way.
In 2011 they tried to sell a minority stake to hedge fund manager David Einhorn with the understanding that he would have a majority stake in the team within three years. At the time Einhorn said the Wilpon's kept changing the terms of the deal, including warning him that MLB would have a problem with the transition in power.
Einhorn took it upon himself to ask then commissioner Bud Selig, who indicated that MLB would have no problem with the terms of the deal. The Wilpon's lied the Einhorn, and they played difficult with Cohen.
Who in their right mind would want anything to do with the Wilpon's? They are not only cheap, but have proven in two attempts to sell to be both petty and vindictive.
The Mets front office is definitely a mess and it isn't going to get better any time soon.
After initial reports indicated Tuesday that billionaire hedge fund manager Steve Cohen was backing out of a $2.6 billion sale to purchase the New York Mets from Fred and Jeff Wilpon, details about why the deal fell through are starting to leak out.
According to the New York Post the deal died because Jeff Wilpon wanted more power and say in the franchise's operation -- even with Cohen as the majority owner. The Wilpon's wanted Jeff to maintain control of the team through the five year transitional window and maintain a senior position within the organization after Cohen took over.There was no way Cohen was going to accept having the Wilpon's hang around with total control for that long and he got out of the deal.
There is also a rumor that Cohen was trying to change the financial terms of the deal as well.
Either way Cohen is not going to buy the Mets, and expressed his disappointment and thanked Mets fans for their support.
"I want to thank the fans for their support and the respect they showed me and I want to thank Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLB for their support through the process. I gave it my best shot."
The question now is what will the Mets do moving forward? For the interim, and the foreseeable future the Wilpon's will remain the heads of the organization. How long that will be the case is anyone's guess.
The Wilpon's issued a statement after the sale fell through that they are "pursuing a new transaction and have engaged Allen and Company to manage the process."
There is also the belief that the Wilpon family wants to sell the team and does not want Jeff to run the franchise for much longer. There is a desire to get out.
The problem the Mets and the Wilpon's face is very simple: who will ever want to work with them on a sale? Can they even be trusted at this point? And will the Mets find another billionaire like Steve Cohen with $13 billion to his name to buy the team?
It's hard to imagine. Remember this is now the second time the Mets have tried and failed to sell the team because the Wilpon's own personal greed got in the way.
In 2011 they tried to sell a minority stake to hedge fund manager David Einhorn with the understanding that he would have a majority stake in the team within three years. At the time Einhorn said the Wilpon's kept changing the terms of the deal, including warning him that MLB would have a problem with the transition in power.
Einhorn took it upon himself to ask then commissioner Bud Selig, who indicated that MLB would have no problem with the terms of the deal. The Wilpon's lied the Einhorn, and they played difficult with Cohen.
Who in their right mind would want anything to do with the Wilpon's? They are not only cheap, but have proven in two attempts to sell to be both petty and vindictive.
The Mets front office is definitely a mess and it isn't going to get better any time soon.
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