Report: A-Rod, J-Lo preparing new bid for Mets
Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez have resumed their pursuit of the New York Mets.
The power couple are working with senior bankers at JP Morgan Chase and preparing a new bid for ownership of the baseball team, sources told Thornton McEnery of the New York Post.
Rodriguez and Lopez showed interest in buying the Mets from the Wilpon family earlier this year but reportedly backed out several weeks ago. Billionaire Wayne Rothbaum was reportedly identified as the money behind that bid, though he was believed to want the Mets only at a discount.
The Wilpon's reluctance to include ownership of the SNY regional sports network in the sale helped end Rodriguez and Lopez's previous bid. However, that may have changed; the family could now be open to selling a portion of the network to get a deal done, according to McEnery. They are also more anxious to sell the Mets due to COVID-19's impact on their finances, McEnery reports.
For this bid, the couple are reportedly using "hundreds of millions" of dollars of their own money. They've also been developing a "long-term ownership plan" in the event they gain control of the Mets, McEnery reports.
Forbes valued the Mets at $2.8 billion this year, but there are questions about the franchise's state. Estimates last month suggested majority owner Fred Wilpon was losing as much as $90 million on the team, though SNY has remained profitable.
Wilpon has owned at least a portion of the Mets since 1980. An agreement to sell 80% of the team to billionaire Steve Cohen fell through in February.