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Report: Wilpons in Negotiations to Sell Mets

Consider this an early Christmas gift to Mets fans — the Wilpons are reportedly in talks to sell a majority of the team.

So long?

Bloomberg News reports billionaire Steve Cohen would buy 80% of the team in a deal valuing the Mets at a whopping $2.6 billion. But here’s the bad news — Fred and Jeff Wilpon get to remain in their positions for five more years.

Worth a reported $9.2 billion, the Long Island-born Cohen would be the richest owner in baseball. Which means perhaps he wouldn’t pinch pennies like some other owner we know.

Cohen is already a minority owner of the Mets, having bought one of those $20 million blocks when the Wilpons were trying to raise much needed cash in 2012.

The Mets turned out to be quite a good investment for Fred Wilpon. He bought a 1% interest in the club when Doubleday and Company bought the team for $21.1 million in 1980. When Doubleday sold its company in 1986, Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday bought the team as equal partners for $80.75 million. Wilpon bought out Doubleday in 2002 for $391 million.

So the Wilpons will perhaps soon be mostly gone (as well as Saul Katz and whatever percentage he owns). And most Mets fans are rejoicing tonight.

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