The sale of the New York Mets has been a long and winding process, but fans should get some closure soon. Opening bids are due in one week.
Charles Gasparino of the Fox Business Network is reporting that investment bank Allen and Co. has set a July 9 deadline for interested parties to submit their bids to buy the New York Mets. Along with the deadline, Gasparino also reports that three, potentially four bids for the New York Mets are expected. J-Rod, Harris and Blitzer, and Steve Cohen are all expected to make bids, with the Reuben brothers on the outside looking in.
BREAKING: Allen & Co., set a July 9 date for bids for the @Mets interested parties include @AROD, Harris Blitzer Entertainment, Steve Cohen, and MAYBE the Reuben Bros story developing
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) July 2, 2020
Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have long been rumored to be interested in purchasing the Mets. Rodriguez is a lifelong Mets fan and Jennifer Lopez sees Citi Field as the next big cultural hotspot. The couple has had trouble putting together the finances for a bid, but that no longer seems to be an obstacle. Gasparino is reporting that J-Rod’s bid will be in the region of $2 billion.
SCOOP (cont) @AROD bid for @Mets as of now will include @vitaminwater founder Mike Repole, former NY Merc chairman, @VirtuFinancial founder, current @FlaPanthers owner Vincent Viola, contributing around $250m to Arod's bid of "around $2b" according to a source close to matter https://t.co/Me48QsUC9A
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) July 2, 2020
The other major news from Gasparino is the return of Steve Cohen. It has been rumored for a while that Cohen is keeping his on the sale with an eye on a second attempt to buy the beleaguered franchise. Gasparino is now confirming that Cohen is indeed expected to bid, though he is being very cautious.
SCOOP (cont) Steve Cohen's interest in the @Mets is said to be one of extreme caution meaning since he feels burned by the Wilpons earlier in the year. He is said to be keeping a close eye on who comes in and for how much before making his move https://t.co/Me48QsUC9A
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) July 2, 2020
Gasparino continues to say that Harris and Blitzer are expected to make a bid, though when and for how much is still unknown. The New York Post previously reported that Harris and Blitzer were opening with a $1.4 billion bid for the Mets without SNY.
That bid is well short of what J-Rod are reportedly offering, though the absence of SNY could be enticing to the Wilpons. They don’t want to give up the money-making cable network, so any bid without it has to be taken seriously.
Lastly, Gasparino is reporting that the Reuben brothers are hard to pin down. There have been numerous reports in the past week that the Reuben brothers are more interested in buying real estate from the Wilpons then the Mets. However, Gasparino reports the real issue might be that the Reuben brothers don’t want MLB to take a look at their financial records.
SCOOP (continued) — Harris Blitzer (cc @ScottONeil) is said to be interested as well. Unclear if and when it will bid. Im getting mixed signals on the Reuben Brothers, the Canadian real estate tycoons who have the money but may not want to league looking at their books https://t.co/Me48QsUC9A
— Charles Gasparino (@CGasparino) July 2, 2020
The long wait finally seems to be over. New York Mets fans should finally have some clarity in the next week or so.
