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Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez give up bid to buy NY Mets, report says
Published May 07, 2020
Power couple ARod and JLo are dropping their bid to buy the New York Mets, according to a report.
The New York Post reported that negotiations with potential partners failed to materialize, and the team’s owners weren’t interested in selling to a buyer without many billions of dollars.
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Alex Rodriguez, 44, earned about $448 million as a player. For Jennifer Lopez, the lower end of the estimate places her at $225 million, while the top end reaches $400 million, with an annual salary of $40 million.
Given the drop in equities prices caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the current time period figured to be a difficult time to raise money for a bid.
The couple had faced difficulty with their designated financial partner Long Island biotech billionaire Wayne Rothbaum.
“The Rothbaum thing soured fast,” an unidentified source told The Post. “He was not their first choice, but he was the first to agree to next steps.”
He wanted more control of the team than the couple were looking to give.
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The news outlet said baseball’s current cancellation would cost the Mets an estimated $150 million.
Current Mets ownership also weren’t interested in selling SportsNet New York, the Mets’ profitable cable network.
The Mets’ ownership is headed by Fred Wilpon, brother-in-law Saul Katz and Jeff Wilpon’s son Jeff, the team’s chief operating officer. The team said Dec. 4 it was negotiating an agreement with Steve Cohen. The hedge fund manager bought an 8 percent limited partnership stake in 2012 for $40 million. The deal under discussion would have seen him acquire an 80 percent controlling share in a transaction that values the team at $2.6 billion, and the Wilpons would have remained in place for five years.
The sides announced the deal’s collapse on Feb. 6, and the Mets owners said they intended to find a new buyer. Allen & Co. represents the Mets owners.
https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/jennifer-lopez-alex-rodriguez-give-up-bid-to-buy-ny-mets-report-says