Cash-Strapped Mets Take Out $40 Million 'Bridge Loan'
NEW YORK (WFAN/AP) — Mets owners Fred Wilpon, Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz recently got a $40 million loan to help with cash flow, a year after getting a $25 million loan from Major League Baseball.
According to the New York Times, the loan came in the last six weeks from Bank of America. The Mets haven't yet paid back the loan from MLB.
The Mets called the recent transaction a "bridge loan" to help them while they seek to sell $20 million minority shares of the club. A $200 million deal for minority ownership with hedge funder David Einhorn fell apart over the summer.
"The bridge loan was approved by Major League Baseball and the syndicate of lenders to the Mets," the team said in a statement. "The process for the sale of minority shares in the team continues to go very well."
The Mets have been plagued by the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme. General manager Sandy Alderson recently disclosed the team had lost $70 million.
Last March, Forbes reported the Mets had lost 13 percent of their worth amid legal and debt problems. Listed by the publication at $858 million in 2010, the franchise was valued at $747 million in 2011.
Star shortstop Jose Reyes left the cash-strapped Mets as a free agent and joined the Miami Marlins last week.
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