Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez have reportedly ended their bid to purchase the New York Mets baseball franchise.
The superstars were recently reported to have teamed up with JPMorgan Chase’s managing director Eric Menell, the bank’s co-head of North American media investment banking, to discuss raising the capital to potentially make an offer to the Wilpon family, which currently owns the team.
However, the effort has since been abandoned by Lopez and former New York Yankees ace A-Rod, after failed negotiations with prospective partners, according to the New York Post.
They are said to have initially eyed a deal to work with biotech billionaire Wayne Rothbaum to mount the bid for the Mets, but a fall out over how much control he would have over the team allegedly led to the couple nixing the idea.
“The Rothbaum thing soured fast,” an insider told the publication. “He was not their first choice, but he was the first to agree to next steps.”
Representatives for Lopez and Rodriguez have yet to comment on the news.
The Wilpons previously entered discussions to sell 80 percent of the Mets, valued at $2.6 billion, in December (2019), but talks with hedge fund mogul Steve Cohen fell apart over the family’s wish to maintain control over the franchise for the next five years.
