Billionaire Steve Cohen has reentered into negotiations to purchase the New York Mets, hoping to salvage a deal for the franchise after a previous agreement to buy the team fell apart, a source familiar with the organization's sale confirmed to ESPN.
The emergence of Cohen as the winning bidder over a group led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez came days before the process was expected to conclude. While the Rodriguez-Lopez consortium said in a statement that it had made "a fully funded offer at a record price for the team," its admission that "they are no longer pursuing the acquisition of the team" confirmed Cohen's inside track, which was first reported by CNBC on Friday night.
Cohen, 64, previously had come to terms on a deal to buy a controlling share of the Mets at a $2.6 billion valuation. The agreement fell apart amid concerns that Jeff Wilpon, the team's chief operating officer and the son of majority owner Fred Wilpon, wanted to enforce a clause in the contract that allowed him to remain in his current position for five years rather than treat it as an honorary role. Though Cohen's price is expected to be less than in his original offer, sources said, it won't be significantly lower.