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Mets to partner with Rye's Einhorn

The New York Mets announced Thursday that the team has agreed to sell part of the franchise to hedge-fund manager David Einhorn of Rye.

Einhorn, 43, a self-professed Mets fan from childhood,  will “Meet the Mets” as a minority, non-operating partner for a proposed $200 million personal investment if negotiations satisfy all the parties and the Major League Baseball.

The New York Mets announced the prospective partnership Thursday with a press release stating that the team and Einhorn had “entered into exclusive negotiations with respect to Einhorn’s investment in the team, which is subject to the negotiation of a mutually acceptable definitive agreement for the transaction, as well as required approvals by Major League Baseball. The parties expect to enter into definitive agreements by late June.”

“We are very excited about David joining our ownership group for several reasons,” said Fred Wilpon, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, New York Mets.  “David’s investment immediately improves the franchise’s financial position.  Equally important, David’s intelligence, integrity and success in both business and civic affairs provides us with another perspective in evaluating what is best for this organization and our fans, and we welcome his input.  In partnership with David, we look forward to achieving our ultimate goal of again becoming World Series champions.”

Einhorn, is President of Greenlight Capital, Inc., a private investment firm which he co-founded in January 1996, and is Chairman of the Board of Greenlight Capital Re, Ltd. 

“Having an opportunity to become part of the Mets franchise is exciting beyond my wildest childhood dreams.  I spent my first seven years living in New Jersey and rooting for the Mets.  In 1975, I even dressed in a homemade jersey as a Met for Halloween.  I have been a baseball fan for my entire life and have enjoyed teaching the game as the coach of my daughter’s little league team.  I look forward to partnering with the Wilpon and Katz families through the good seasons, the tough seasons and especially the championship seasons.”

The Mets have been dealing with financial problems and the current owners are facing a multimillion dollar lawsuit filed by a court trustee seeking to recover money for victims of the Madoff Ponzi scheme.

Wilpon and minority owner Saul Katz will use Einhorn’s investment to help pay operating costs. The percentage of Einhorn’s ownership has not yet been determined.

 Einhorn formed the Einhorn Family Charitable Trust, whose mission is to help people get along better.  He also serves on the Board of Directors of The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research and the Robin Hood Foundation. He is the author of “Fooling Some of the People All of the Time”

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