Steve Cohen, Team in Final Three Pushing for LA Dodgers’ Ownership

Hedge fund manager Steve Cohen understands the art of the deal. At his SAC Capital fund, he uses both quantitative and fundamental analysis to make the sort of lucrative calls that has enabled him to return investors almost 30% over the last 20 years – and become one of the wealthiest men in the world.  Cohen, who is just 55 years old, is listed by Forbes as the 35th richest person in the US and has a personal net worth of $8.3 billion. He is also a baseball fan.

Recently, Steve Cohen made the final cut to become the new owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Along with a team of other investors, including the richest man in Los Angeles Patrick Soon-Shiong, Cohen is up against a team led by Los Angeles Lakers legend Magic Johnson and  former baseball executive Stan Kasten and another headed up by St. Louis Rams owner Stan Kroenke.

Bringing Soon-Shiong on board is a smart move for Cohen. Some in Los Angeles, including Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, had raised objections to the team going to a non-local and were somewhat worried what could happen to the team if Cohen’s fund SAC Capital was ever charged with insider trading. Bringing Soon-Shiong on board fixes both these issues.

Under the terms of Cohen’s bid, he would own 100% of the team, with Soon-Shiong owning an undisclosed minority stake. Cohen is committing a total of $2 billion to purchase the team and renovate the stadium – a sum that he is putting down without financing. Cohen’s bidding team is also positioned to offset the $400 million in debt the Dodgers had accumulated under McCourt’s management and which contributed largely to its bankruptcy.