Mets Have 'Four or Five Suitors' Interested in Buying Team, Says Jeff Wilpon

The New York Mets have four or five serious suitors to purchase the franchise, according to COO Jeff Wilpon. 

"The team will have some kind of transaction," Wilpon told the UJA-Federation of New York, per B/R's Yaron Weitzman. "I can't tell you exactly what it's going to be and how it's going to look. But we're working toward a transaction and there's four or five suitors that are out there to do something with and [there's] a bunch of philanthropic planning and family planning that my dad and my uncle want to do, and it's totally fine."

Steve Cohen backed out of buying the Mets in February after the Wilpon family attempted to change terms of the sale, per Deesha Thosar of the New York Daily News. Cohen had worked out a deal that would slowly phase the family out of the organization over the next few years and net the franchise about a $2.6 billion valuation. 

The Wilpons have been working to find new suitors since the Cohen deal fell through.

Josh Harris and David Blitzer, who already own the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Devils, have become "serious" bidders, per Thornton McEnery of the New York Post. A group that includes Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez has also expressed interest in the franchise.

Fred Wilpon and Nelson Doubleday Jr. bought equal 50 percent shares of the Mets in 1986. Wilpon bought out Doubleday's share in 2002.

The sale of the Mets, regardless of who winds up being the final bidder, will likely be the largest in MLB history.