The New York Mets are telling suitors they are expecting to raise $200 million for a 25-percent stake in the team, valuing the franchise at about $1.3 billion, The Post has learned.
That would make the Mets almost as valuable as the Yankees, which Forbes says are worth $1.6 billion.
Several sources following the situation believe the Mets have very high expectations. “It’s beyond absurd,” one source said.
The valuation is based on taking the $200 million sale price, multiplying it by four and adding the team’s $500 million in debt.
The outsized valuation was passed along recently to at least one of the pre-qualified groups of would-be bidders by Mets banker Allen & Co. This group, along with at least two others, has been referred to Major League Baseball, which is expected to certify them shortly.
Once certified, the suitors will get to see the team’s confidential financial statements.
A person close to the team denied that price expectations have been mentioned, saying they will be addressed after the groups are certified.
Suitors include a group led by David Heller, the co-head of Goldman Sachs’ securities unit; one including Steve Starker, co-founder of the global-trading firm BTIG and Ken Dichter, the co-founder of Marquis Jet; and a group including Anthony Scaramucci, the general manager of SkyBridge Capital.
Last week The Post reported exclusively that Mets lender JPMorgan Chase was considering raising more money for the team. However that effort has died.