If you have ever seen the Showtime TV series "Billions" you know very well that
Bobby Axlerod (Damien Lewis) never gives up on a deal, even if it's going to
cost him a lot of money.
Well, hudge fund manager Steve Cohen, whose life
"loosely" serves as a basis for the character is not giving up in his pursuit of
the New York Mets.
Quiet the contrary.
Instead, Cohen has put forward a deal
that blows the competition right out of the water. Cohen is offering to pay up
to $2 billion to buy the baseball team, and an additional $2 billion to buy the
Mets television station, SNY, away from the Wilpons.
That is $4 billion big
ones! How do the Wilpon's not say 'yes' to this?
The offer blows away the
proposal by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez, which around a reported $1.7
billion. Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils co-owners Josh Harris and
David Blitzer are also in the mix for the Mets.
According to reports, Mets COO
Jeff Wilpon would prefer to sell the team to the J-Rod if their offer is close.
Clearly the only reason the Wilpon's would take less money is if it means they
can hang around like bats in chimney, while still overseeing the TV station.
Part of the reason the Cohen deal fell apart in February had to do with the
amount of control the Wilpon's wanted to maintain in the Mets, which would have
taken five years for them to ceeed more than 80 percent control.
Cohen, 64, is
no spring chicken and wants to have full autonomy -- duh, who wouldn't.
All Mets
fans can do right now is hope and prey that the Wilpon's take the Cohen deal.
It's a good deal as good as anyone is about to offer for both the team and
network. The Wilpon's would leave as rich as ever and the team would then be in
the hands of someone who is a reported fan who would likely devote endless money
to the franchise -- something the club desperately needs in a major market.
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