Controversial hedge-fund titan Steve Cohen is very close to being a baseball owner, The Post has learned.
The billionaire money man is the frontrunner to buy a minority stake in the money-losing team and was set to meet last night with the Mets owners at 8 pm at Gabriele’s Steak House in his hometown of Greenwich, Conn., to discuss the potential deal, two sources said.
Mets’ owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz over the last several days have winnowed down the four final suitors and are believed to be set to name Cohen the leading and preferred bidder, the sources said.
“Cohen wants it,” a source familiar with his thinking said. “What he wants he gets. It’s a trophy to him but not just a trophy. In time, it can be a real asset.”
A source close to the Mets cautioned that no bidder has been named a winner yet.
“The confidential discussions with a number of qualified parties continue and there is no single frontrunner right now,” the Mets source noted.
Cohen’s spokesman declined comment.
The Mets, which last year lost roughly $60 million, are seeking a buyer to pay $200 million for up to a 49 percent stake in the team to provide much needed operating capital.
Conventional wisdom is that over time, and with a $1 billion lawsuit brought by the court-appoint Madoff trustee hanging over their heads, the current owners will give up control of the team.
A minority owner will have significant input immediately on key budgetary decisions, The Post exclusively reported last week, and be part of a newly created board.
Other finalists in the last few days have told the owners they believe the Mets are worth less than the $800 million-plus valuation needed to get to a $200 million price for 49 percent of the team — after accounting for the club’s roughly $430 million in debt.
While Cohen’s investment, if he is selected and chooses to invest in the team, could solve many Mets’ off-field problems, the reclusive Long Island native comes with some baggage.
The investor’s $12 billion SAC Capital hedge fund operation said in a letter to investors last November that it had received an “extraordinarily broad” subpoena from federal prosecutors probing insider trading on Wall Street. In a Dec. 31 letter, the Post has reported, Cohen promised those investors that he would pick up the tab for SAC’s costs in cooperating with the feds.
SAC has not been charged or named in any action.
Major League Baseball has the right to approve new baseball owners and would investigate any purchaser.
Separately, the Mets said they are still hoping to settle the suit filed by Irving Picard, the Madoff trustee, even though the sides are far apart.
Their lawyer Karen Wagner told The Post, “While the Mets’ owners have disputed the trustee’s unfounded allegations, in the interest of putting this matter behind them they remain actively involved in mediation with Gov. Cuomo.”jkosman@nypost.com