Mets owner Steve Cohen’s attempt to bail out a former business protege’s investment firm has some fans worried.
Cohen joined forces this week with fellow finance tycoon Ken Griffin to save hedge fund Melvin Capital from some troubled investments, including bets against GameStop.
Melvin was reportedly down 30 percent as rookie investors who frequent stock message boards like Reddit helped push up shares of the video game retailer — putting pressure on Melvin’s bet that the stock would fall, known as a “short.”
Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management and Griffin’s firm Citadel gave Melvin a combined $2.75 billion investment on Monday to help it through the market turmoil.
The stunning bailout had Mets fan wringing their hands on social media.
“Explain to me like I’m 5 with what’s going on with GameStop/amc and how will this affect the Mets,” a Twitter user named @Metsochist4Life wrote.
A user named @AreolaBorealis wrote directly to Cohen saying: “Is this Gamestop business [affecting] the Mets payroll? I mean that’s the main story in all of this.”
Cohen replied: “Why would one have anything to do with the other?”
Earlier Cohen — who’s gone from being the billionaire behind the curtain to interacting with people on Twitter — suggested that he’s been getting it from all sides in the wake of his Melvin investment.
“Rough crowd on Twitter tonight. Hey stock jockeys keep bringing it,” he wrote.
Cohen is worth more than $14 billion and purchased the team last fall for $2.4 billion, outbidding other groups — including one led by Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez.
His wealth combined with his reputation for winning has Mets fans counting on him to revive a team that last won the World Series in 1986.
Cohen’s Point72, as it happens, also owns a small 26,878-share stake in GameStop, according to Bloomberg data.
Neither Point72 nor Citadel will get controlling shares of Melvin, founded by Gabe Plotkin, who began his career at Citadel before working for Cohen and starting his own fund.
— Additional reporting by Thornton McEnery