Mark Cuban’s Pursuit Of Cubs In Jeopardy After Insider Trading Accusations
If Mark Cuban is to return to Wrigley Field next season, it won’t be in triumph and he’ll need a ticket.
Cuban, a technology entrepreneur and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, was paraded before Cub fans this year as the potential next owner of the team. But Monday, his chances for getting the club collapsed with a suddenness that was, well, Cubs-like.
The Securities and Exchange Commission accused Cuban, 50, of insider trading. The charge is contained in a civil lawsuit that asks for monetary damages, and Cuban put out an indignant response through his lawyer that the SEC was out to get him, “facts be damned.”
But the accusations probably are enough to ensure that Major League Baseball owners would never approve Cuban as the Cubs buyer. Tribune Co., which owns the Cubs, will select a favored bidder and forward it to the league, but three-quarters of the owners have to approve any sale.
The owners historically are picky about who they allow into their exclusive club. “This is a major problem,” said attorney and sports writer Lester Munson. “The owners have been looking for reasons to veto Mark Cuban and now they have one.”
Baseball’s lords dislike Cuban for antics on the sidelines of Mavericks games, and the National Basketball Association has fined him an estimated $1.6 million for insults directed at referees. “Baseball owners are not really interested in any maverick. Mark Cuban is a kind of Bill Veeck without the personal charm,” said Munson, referring to the former Chicago White Sox owner remembered for thinking of everyday fans.
Tribune Chairman Sam Zell, who needs to sell the Cubs to retire debt, thought Cuban was a likely candidate to meet an asking price that before the financial crisis was more than $1 billion. It’s not known if bidders are holding to that price. The team has asked for updated bids by Nov. 26, essentially asking contestants to prove their interest and credit worthiness.
Cuban’s travails could help the cause of Thomas Ricketts, president of corporate bond dealer Incapital LLC, also thought to be a strong bidder. His family wealth stems from the TD Ameritrade brokerage.
Ricketts, who did not return a call, is a local buyer, something baseball owners prefer when a franchise trades hands. Other bidders for the Cubs, who sources said have at best an outside shot, are Chicago real estate investor Hersch Klaff, a group that includes investor Michael Tokarz and New York taxi magnate Andrew Murstein, and a partnership of investors Mark Utay and Leo Hindery Jr.
- David Roeder, Chicago Sun Times
