Now the only thing left for Great Neck native Steve Cohen is to get the approval of Major League Baseball’s other club owners.
The 64-year-old $14.6 billionaire hedge-fund manager signed an agreement with the Wilpon family on Monday to take over a 95% majority ownership of the New York Mets.
The last item left on the agenda is for Cohen to get 22 approving votes from the 29 other MLB club owners, which was originally forecasted to take place in November. However, Newsday’s Tim Healey reported that the vote could come sooner than that.
Regardless, the general consensus of those I’ve spoken to familiar with the situation — which has also been echoed in similar reports by MLB insider Jon Heyman — is that Cohen should not run into any issues getting the necessary approval from the owners.
That doesn’t mean he’ll get receive unanimous consent, however. Heyman noted that “two owners are inclined to vote no.” Still, there should not be many trying to stand in Cohen’s way.
Based solely on the price he’s paying for the Mets ($2.475 billion), Cohen helps inflate the value of almost every other MLB club.
“Just on that fact, he should get the yesses he needs,” a source with knowledge of the situation told amNewYork Metro on Wednesday.
That same source speculated that the Los Angeles Dodgers — whom Cohen tried to purchase in 2011 — could be one of the teams that would vote no, but again, it’s important to note that it is nothing more than speculation at this point.
Multiple reports have already tabbed Chicago White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf as one of the owners who are not enthused about Cohen’s selection.
As for the immediate rumors that the Yankees would be one of the teams to vote no, such accusations don’t hold much water. And that’s even when realizing the Mets could challenge the Yankees’ proverbial place atop the throne of New York baseball.
After all, a record-breaking deal for the less-successful New York City-area team only adds more value to the team from the Bronx, which is one of the world’s most iconic sporting brands.
Sabotaging that wouldn’t make much sense. Neither would trying to derail Cohen for an ownership group led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez.
