Adam Rubin wrote an interesting article (linked below) on ESPN New York about David Einhorn and how he could benefit greatly from Fred Wilpon’s financial crisis. In short, Rubin wrote that Einhorn has made a living off of betting on losers. In this case, Einhorn would benefit from Fred Wilpon taking a major blow in his billion dollar lawsuit as well as from the team continuing to struggle on the field and at the ticket office. In other words, the more the team loses, the more Wilpon loses. The more Wilpon loses, the more Einhorn wins.
Three years from now, Wilpon will have the option to accept or reject Einhorn’s increase in team ownership from what it is now to 60%. However, if Wilpon elects to reject that increase, Einhorn would still retain his minority share of the team and have all of his money refunded to him. In effect, this means the worst case scenario for him is that he is currently paying a loan to get minority ownership. Best case scenario is he is the majority owner in three years.
As awkward of a relationship as it might create between the two, Einhorn benefits from Wilpon’s financial struggle. It’s hard to imagine with the team losing and Fred Wilpon seemingly in desperation that three years from now things will have made a turn for the better so much so that he can hold onto the team. From appearances alone, it seems that he is on his way out.
Therefore, if I had to guess, Einhorn will be the majority owner some time around 2014.
Here is a link to Rubin’s article, which has additional quotes from David and some more insight.
Midwestropolitan 