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Mets fans may finally be getting their wish.
Sterling Partners, the business of the Wilpon family, is in negotiations to sell 80 percent of the Mets to hedge-fund billionaire Steve Cohen, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday. The transaction would value the franchise at $2.6 billion, according to Bloomberg.
The team confirmed that negotiations are ongoing and that Fred Wilpon will remain in the role of CEO for five years and Jeff Wilpon will remain as COO for the same amount of time. After those five years are up, Cohen will have a path for taking control of the franchise. The Wilpons would retain some stake in the franchise, according to Bloomberg.
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Cohen, who is the CEO of Point72 Asset Management, has a net worth of $9.2 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
The Mets have long been criticized for an unwillingness to spend the dollars necessary to keep the team competitive, despite being in the New York market.
