Steve Cohen in agreement to buy Mets

Billionaire and longtime Mets fan Steve Cohen is in agreement to buy the New York Mets from the Wilpons and their ownership group, according to Jon Heyman. And per Tim Healey, the deal is pending Major League Baseball approval and will—if approved—give Coehn ownership of 95 percent of the franchise in a deal that values the Mets at about $2.475 billion.

Late last year, the Mets surprisingly announced that they were in negotiations to sell the team to Cohen, but that deal fell through a couple of months later as there were reports that the Wilpons’ desire to remain in control of the team after the sale became a contentious issue. The Mets hired a firm to help them with another attempt to sell the team shortly thereafter, announcing they still fully intended to sell the team.

Over the course of this summer, a few potential buyers surfaced, with Cohen leading the pack and an investment group publicly led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez putting together the most substantial and prominent bids. According to the Daily News, Jeff Wilpon did not watn to sell to Cohen under any circumstances, but he was clearly overruled as Cohen put in the highest bid to buy the franchise.

In order for the deal to become final, Cohen will need to get the approval of at least 23 other Major League Baseball owners, though recent reporting has indicated that is unlikely to be a problem.

Said Cohen in a statement released by the Mets: “I am excited to have reached an agreement with the Wilpon and Katz families to purchase the New York Mets.”