Add a billionaire hedge-fund heavyweight to the lineup of possible suitors wanting a piece of the Mets.
Steven Cohen, 54, is interested in buying a minority stake in the cash-strapped team from the Wilpon family, according to published reports yesterday. The Mets reportedly need $200 million to help pay off debts and could sell up to 49 percent of the team to raise money.
The Wilpons are also named in a lawsuit seeking $1 billion in claims for victims of Wall Street huckster Bernard Madoff’s infamous Ponzi scheme. The Wilpons, while involved with Madoff, have denied any wrongdoing.
Meanwhile, other bidders have been in talks with the Wilpons. But Cohen, who was born in Great Neck and is the founder of SAC Capital Advisors in Connecticut may be the preferred bidder, according to the New York Times. SAC reportedly manages about $12 billion in assets.
The team in a statement yesterday said it is “neither confirming nor denying any speculation.” A spokesman for Cohen’s company declined to comment.
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