By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Randy Frankel, a member of the Tampa Bay Rays ownership group, is part of a group that has formally expressed interest in buying a minority share of the Mets , the New York Times reported today.
Frankel is part of a group that has taken the first step toward a bid, paying a nonrefundable $25,000 application fee to MLB.
According to the NY Times report:
Steven Starker, the co-founder of BTIG, a global trading company, is the main investor in the group, which has had a preliminary meeting with Allen & Company, the advisers hired by the Mets to help sell 25 percent or more of the team, according to two people familiar with the investment group.
Starker's consortium includes Kenny Dichter, a co-founder of Marquis Jet, a company that pioneered the fractional private jet card concept; and Doug Ellin, the creator of "Entourage," the HBO series; and Randy Frankel, a minority owner of the Rays.
Frankel lives in the New York area and was part of Rays principal owner Stuart Sternberg's original invesment group. He presumably would have to sell his stake in the Rays if the Mets bid was succesful.
According to the Times, Starker was partners with Frankel and Sternberg while a senior executive at the New York brokerage firm Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. Spear was acquired Goldman Sachs and after three years there Staker went out and strted BTIG.
Sternberg has denied any interest in the Mets, though there have been reports in New York media saying he would have interest if the Wilpons were willing to sell a majority share.