Jennifer Lopez, Alex Rodriguez Reportedly Angling To Buy New York Mets
Multi-platinum recording artist Jennifer Lopez and her fiance, former New York Yankees great and AL MVP Alex Rodriguez, are reportedly taking steps to purchase the New York Mets, according to sources close to the situation. The franchise’s current ownership — real estate developer Fred Wilpon and his family — said they were negotiating to sell up to an 80 percent stake in the Major League team in December before those talks later fell apart.
The report of J-Lo and A-Rod angling to purchase the Mets comes via Variety, which states that the power couple has retained JPMorgan Chase to raise the capital necessary to make a bid for the team. They’re reportedly working with managing director Eric Menell, who acts as the firm’s co-head of North American media investment banking, according to Variety’s sources.
It was billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist Steve Cohen who attempted to buy a majority stake in the club previously. His proposed deal with the Wilpons valued the franchise at more than $2.5 billion and would have allowed the family to maintain control of the team for five years. However, the two parties ultimately couldn’t come to terms and Cohen — who owns an 8 percent stake in the club currently — was forced to walk away in February. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred subsequently rebuffed the notion that the Wilpons were to blame for the failed deal in a statement given to The New York Times.
“Based on conversations with the buyer and seller on an ongoing basis, the assertion that the transaction fell apart because of something that the Wilpons did is completely and utterly unfair.”
The Wilpon family assumed control of the Mets back in 2002, purchasing the team from the late Nelson Doubleday. At that point, the franchise was valued at just under $400 million. Since that time, sports franchises around the globe have skyrocketed in value overall.
According to New York Daily News, Lopez and Rodriguez have a combined net worth in the area of $700 million. While Rodriguez retired from baseball in 2016 after accruing the fourth-most home runs in baseball history (696), Lopez continues to be very active as a performer. Her upcoming film, Marry Me, wrapped principal photography in November. Earlier in 2019, she embarked on a 38-show world tour.
More recently, the couple shared a video of themselves and their kids taking part in an Easter egg hunt on Rodriguez’s Instagram. In the two-minute clip, the 50-year-old Lopez wowed in a two-piece and sheer cover-up.
