By Adam Nichols
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — The Bernie Madoff scandal is forcing the owners of the New York Mets to sell off part of the club.
In a statement released Friday, Fred and Jeff Wilpon said they were hunting "strategic partners" interested in buying a minority stake in the club because of financial uncertainty surrounding a lawsuit.
Sterling Equities, the entity which is the club's principal stake holder, was sued in December in an effort to recover cash for Madoff's clients. Sterling was a big client of the Ponzi schemer.
The statement said the Mets wanted to "address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win."
The Wilpons said they had hired investment bank Allen & Co. to look for partners.
They promised Sterling and the Wilpons would continue to be in charge.
"Regardless of the outcome of this exploration, Sterling will remain the principal ownership group of the Mets and continue to control and manage the team's operations," the statement said.
"The Mets have been a major part of our families for more than 30 years and that is not going to change."
Legal papers claim the Mets' owners invested $523 million with Madoff, and withdrew $571 million before the fraud collapsed in 2008.
