Another Potential Buyer

[Theoldmole]

Does that mean that he's succeeded in buying horses or that he owns successful horses?

[MFS62]

=Theoldmole post_id=39134 time=1592853867 user_id=77]
Does that mean that he's succeeded in buying horses or that he owns successful horses?

[Edgy MD]

I could be wrong, but I think I knew this guy's sister way back.

[MFS62]

Taking a cue from the "How Many Wendy's?" thread, if a crowd is going to advance on a place with torches, I'd vote for 111 Great Neck Road.

It will have nothing to do with stopping racism, but it might light a fire under the Wilpons to sell the team.

Later

[bmfc1]

David Wright has a piece of VitaminWater:

[bLOCKQUOTE]instead of taking cash to endorse the company's flavored water brands, the third baseman, who says he started drinking Glaceau's juiced-up beverages in the minors, took a 0.5 percent ownership stake in the company. [/bLOCKQUOTE]

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-wright-50-cent-make_n_49441https://www.huffpost.com/entry/david-wright-50-cent-make_n_49441

[Benjamin Grimm]

Sounds more nourishing than liquid feces*





*Very old CPF reference!

[ashie62]

Equity David

[Ceetar]

if Rovell was more than just an aggregator you'd think he'd have noted the Wright connection.





Of course, I don't think it's relevant anymore anyway, as VitaminWater was sold to Coke and I'm pretty sure Wright cashed out at that time.

[Frayed Knot]

=MFS62 post_id=39181 time=1592925263 user_id=60]... if a crowd is going to advance on a place with torches, I'd vote for 111 Great Neck Road.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: ... if a crowd is going to advance on a place with torches, I'd vote for 111 Great Neck Road. Are we supposed to know the significance of that particular address?

Ya mean you didn't know that it is the headquarters of Sterling Equities (The Wilpons' company)?

I had to look it up, too.

Later

[Edgy MD]

=Ceetar post_id=39185 time=1592936193 user_id=102]Of course, I don't think it's relevant anymore anyway, as VitaminWater was sold to Coke and I'm pretty sure Wright cashed out at that time.

[MFS62]

Edgy MD wrote: He built a brand from the ground up and flipped it for $4.1 billion. He's back at work building another big drink brand, and he's still only 51.

I hope there will be a few billion left over, not being spent on the new product, to spend on the Mets deal.

Later

[Frayed Knot]

Throw the names of brothers David and Simon Reuben into the mix of possibilities.



SPORTICO: David and Simon Reuben, who amassed a fortune investing in real estate, technology companies and leisure, are exploring a bid for the New York Mets, people familiar with the matter told Sportico.

The brothers, who were born in India [1941 & 1944] and moved to London as teenagers, have a combined net worth of about $14 billion — built on one of the largest portfolios of retail, office and residential properties.

The brothers are likely drawn to the team because of the real estate development possibilities around Citi Field

[Benjamin Grimm]

A couple of brothers in their 80s? They'll probably die in a few years and the team will be run by their cheapskate daughter/niece Lorinda.

[Ceetar]

seems like Jeff wasn't exaggerating when he told 'random reporter' that there was a couple of different interested parties.

[Benjamin Grimm]

I'm not at all surprised by that. There's blood in the water, and if a major sports franchise in New York City might be had at a discount price, billionaires are going to come sniffing around.

[MFS62]

Frayed Knot wrote: The brothers, who were born in India [1941 & 1944] and moved to London as teenagers,

As long as they know enough about baseball to call CitiField a baseball field or diamond and not a pitch, that will show they've learned more about baseball than the Wilpons.

Later

[Edgy MD]

I don't agree that the Wilpons know nothing about baseball.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Does this mean that you're also opposed to burning down their house?

[Edgy MD]

In for a penny, in for a pound.

[Ceetar]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Does this mean that you're also opposed to burning down their house?

The Wilpons would probably welcome it. They'd probably make out in insurance, and it'd help them pay down loans.

[Frayed Knot]

So we might have something resembling a timetable for this soap opera:



According to multiple sources familiar with Mets sale saga, the Wilpons will begin to field first-round bids on the team in July with an eye toward locking in a buyer by Oct. 1.

But insiders say those bidders are now also aware the Wilpons must find a buyer in the coming weeks in order to close a deal by the end of 2020.

“They need to sell the team before the end of the year,” one source told The Post.



https://nypost.com/2020/06/24/wilpons-motivated-to-sell-mets-by-end-of-2020/https://nypost.com/2020/06/24/wilpons-motivated-to-sell-mets-by-end-of-2020/

[kcmets]

Frayed Knot wrote: “They need to sell the team before the end of the year,” one source told The Post.

2020 has sucked so far, maybe this will be the happy ending to it all.

[Ceetar]

That's the clickbait, but they cite other sources that disagree, and other sources that sound an awfully lot like other owners crying poor.

“MLB teams are going to be significantly cash flow negative for the next 2-3 years minimum.”

who speaks like that? With that certainty?

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Bankers with knowledge of the situation?

[Ceetar]

bankers with knowledge of all teams finances? Even just saying that about the Mets is reaching, especially without any additional context or any attempt at explaining it by the authors of the piece.



What if all teams aren't completely leveraged? What does the TV deals say about partial seasons and related revenue, what type of return on advertising are teams getting (interesting to find out if anyone sells like, the banner above the prom reserved to an empty or almost empty stadium). What about the windfall of the playoffs? Nah, this is three owners in a trenchcoat crying poor. Just like the 'source close to the sale' is a Mets employee, though if that means the information is spin, accurate or some combination. (The idea that the sale would be complete in time to give a new ownership group time to prepare for 2021 is certainly logical)



What about labor strife? What if there is no 2022 season? What if the owners pre-anticipate a strike and don't sign free agents this off-season anyway?



I'd love to know how _that_ is affecting the sale. This recent lack of negotiation couldn't have helped the idea that a strike is possible, even likely. Is the possibility of outlaying all that cash, getting one season in, and then being on the hook for an empty one, and potentially a less owner-friendly CBA afterwards going to affect sale price?



this particularly article picks a new number for the money the Mets are losing, which of course is impossible to know and is certainly only part of the financial picture. But what about the idea that teams are potentially already planning to bring fans back this year? Is that revenue important? If they're bringing fans back this year, why would anyone lose money next year, which would presumably be completely normal?



And of course, the obvious reason random banker that's an "insider" doesn't really know anything, is he's a banker not an epidemiologist. Are we going to have workable treatments and vaccines by next spring? Is the disease going to linger? do long term damage? ARE PLAYERS GOING TO GET IT? There's some talk of it affecting the brain stem, of lingering lung damage, of who knows what else. A few significant players getting seriously ill could definitely affect the short term health of the sport, and labor relations and grievances based on health protocols.

[batmagadanleadoff]

=Ceetar post_id=39292 time=1593057284 user_id=102]
But what about the idea that teams are potentially already planning to bring fans back this year? Is that revenue important? If they're bringing fans back this year, why would anyone lose money next year, which would presumably be completely normal?

[Ceetar]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=39293 time=1593057452 user_id=68]
=Ceetar post_id=39292 time=1593057284 user_id=102]
But what about the idea that teams are potentially already planning to bring fans back this year? Is that revenue important? If they're bringing fans back this year, why would anyone lose money next year, which would presumably be completely normal?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I agree. I think the "no fans" think is subject to change, depending on conditions.

[Frayed Knot]

49 y/o LA area realtor/developer Kurt Rappaport, sometimes described as 'Realtor to the Stars', "is in direct contact with the Mets' bankers, Allen & Co." with the idea of making a bid on the team.

With a net worth of around $350 million, he wouldn't have the clout to buy the team on his own but, "multiple people familiar with the bid say that Rappaport, who won the Dave Winfield humanitarian

award at a Major League Baseball event in 2018, is a baseball fan with heavy-hitter connections and could table a sizable bid."



So this puts the list at four with known active interest joining: the very interested but can they get the help 'Team J-Rod'; the Harris/Blitzer private equity guys said to be sniffing around for a bargain;

and the British born Reuben brothers with an eye towards surrounding real estate.

Not mentioned is Steve Cohen although he's certainly watching the situation -- as a minority owner already he'd almost have to -- and, according to this latest Thorton McEnery piece, "it is not out of

the realm of possibility that Cohen offers a bid, should the Wilpons fail to get their asking price". “Steve Cohen still wants the Mets,” one source said. “And he usually gets what he wants.”

What seems increasingly clear is that it's unlikely any bid will top the previous $2 billion+ offer from Cohen.



https://nypost.com/2020/07/02/la-real-estate-developer-latest-bidder-in-mets-sale/https://nypost.com/2020/07/02/la-real-estate-developer-latest-bidder-in-mets-sale/