With bids for New York Mets due in one week, a new bidder has emerged in Hollywood realtor Kurt Rappaport. Is his bid too little too late?
Thornton McEnery of the New York Post is reporting that Hollywood realtor to the stars Kurt Rappaport is leading a bid to purchase the New York Mets. Rappaport is known for his real estate work in the Hollywood Hills. He’s sold homes to celebrities like Ryan Seacrest, Ellen Degeneres, and Tom Cruise. Making big money sales like that tends to create connections.
Rappaport intends to put those connections to use. He’s the latest bidder in the race to purchase the Mets and he could put together a sizable offer despite his low net worth. Rappaport is worth $350 million, which is the lowest of any known bidder by far.
His bid isn’t expected to approach the $2 billion number the Wilpons reportedly want. In fact, McEnery’s sources don’t believe anyone is going to hit the $2 billion valuation the Wilpons seek.
McEnery reports that Harris and Blitzer refuse to move off their $1.4 billion offer, though that doesn’t include SNY. Rappaport isn’t likely to get close to $2 billion either.
The two biggest names in the bid may be a different story. Steve Cohen is lurking in the wings, but he isn’t expected to submit a bid at this time. McEnery reports that Cohen will only make a bid if nobody reaches the Wilpons valuation.
That leaves Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez at the top of the pecking order. The power couple reportedly put together enough capital to submit a bid in the region of $2 billion, though McEnery’s sources are skeptical.
When asked about the potential bid, one banker told McEnery, “If they bid $2 billion, they win. I’d be shocked if anyone offers $2 billion.”
The note here is that he didn’t deny that J-Rod’s bid could have reached that high. The other known bidders are certain to fall short of the $2 billion valuation. That leaves J-Rod in a prime position to be the potential King and Queen of Queens in the very near future.
