According to Richard Sandomir of the New York Times, the Mets recently borrowed another $40 million dollars as a “bridge loan” meant to keep the team afloat as they try to raise money through the sale of minority shares in the team.
People familiar with the team’s situation have said the owners had firm commitments from at least seven investors interested in buying a small share of the team for $20 million apiece. Still, until all are sold, none of the investors have had to turn over cash.
However, two people with knowledge of the team’s finances said “if a full lineup of minority stake investors was not in place by next spring, and cash not in hand, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz might have to confront the prospect of selling the team entirely.”
The recent $40 million loan suggests that the effort to sell minority shares in the team was not generating the cash that the owners needed in the near term. The owners, through a spokesman, said the loan had been approved by Major League Baseball and the other banks to which they are already indebted. Bank of America was the source of the $40 million loan, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
The Mets still have not paid their initial $25 million loan back to Major League Baseball and asked for an extension to pay it back.
