Mets name new minority owner

The Mets made a call to the financial bullpen.
The New York Mets today announced that they have come to an agreement to sell a minority stake in their organization to David Einhorn hoping to improve the financial position of the team.
“We are very excited about David joining our ownership group,” said Fred Wilpon, chairman and C.E.O. of the Mets.
The Mets announced earlier this year that they would seek a minority owner to help cover operating costs. The $200 million investment will make Einhorn a minority, non-operating partner with the team.
Einhorn, president of Greenlight Capital, Inc., said becoming part of the franchise is beyond his “wildest childhood dreams” even recalling dressing in a homemade Mets jersey for Halloween.
“I look forward to partnering with the Wilpon and Katz families through the good seasons, the tough seasons and especially the championship seasons.”
The organization needed an influx of funds following being one of the investors that lost millions in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. The court-appointed trustee in the Madoff bankruptcy, Irving Picard, is seeking hundreds of millions of dollars claiming the Wilpon’s and Mets President Saul Katz ignored warnings of fraud.
General Manager Sandy Alderson said in a radio interview on WFAN recently that the Mets payroll expects to hover around $120 million next year, more than $20 million less than this year’s payroll. It would also mark the lowest payroll the team has carried since the 2007 season.
“David’s investment immediately improves the franchise’s financial position,” said Wilpon.
The deal must still be approved by Major League Baseball and is subject to the negotiation of a mutually acceptable definitive agreement for the transaction. A final agreement is expected by late June.