New Revelations From Team Cuban

by StockJockey

Thursday, November 20, 2008 - 12:36 pm

Based on everything I have read on the SEC vs Cuban would point to one conclusion - these laws are vague, or at least the interpretation of them.

Cuban owned 6% of Mamma.com (now Copernic CNIC-NASDAQ) when the company's management called o ask if he wanted to hear "confidential" information. Apparently he did not say "no" and the information was exchanged.

In my opinion, if he would have hung up and sold because he smelled something funny, that would be kosher. But that is not what allegedly took place.

And now Cuban's lawyers are bringing up a new information that we can all chew on...but why this was not disclosed earlier is beyond me. Maybe they should not fight this in press.

It sounds like they are changing their tune from what the said earlier this week:

Dallas Morning News
But Christopher Clark, a lawyer for Mr. Cuban, said his client also was contacted by a broker about Mamma.com’s stock offering hours after he spoke with the company’s CEO.

Mr. Cuban’s impression was that other investors also were being told about the offering, Mr. Clark said.

“The broker didn’t tell him the information was confidential, and they didn’t tell Mark he couldn’t trade,” Mr. Clark said. “So Mark assumed the broker was telling everyone about the offering.”

The broker could not be reached for comment.

That is a piece of the story we did not have before, or at least a different twist, and emphasis on his communication with the bankers. Are there phone records of a call taking place? Perhaps, but I bet the call was not taped. Was it a broker from Merriman? I doubt Cuban’s broker at UBS would be so sloppy.

Key words “impression” and “assumed” in the quote from Cuban’s lawyer.

What a mess. Cuban is trying to get his story straight, although I doubt this is the last maneuver they make.

Although I am wondering why the SEC did not move on the case until the fall of 2006. Did the newsflow wake them up?

The stock and this episode reeks so bad I do not even want to punch up the ticker.

PIPEs, Merriman and the old Mamma.com are not exactly blue chips. And now the stench is enveloping Cuban.

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The press never gets it right, and he keeps copious records. So it should get interesting.

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Securities lawyers watching SEC’s case against Mark Cuban
Dallas Morning News

More Kookiness…

A Maverick Exchange: The Emails Between Mark Cuban and Jeffrey Norris
WSJ Law Blog
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The content contained in this blog represents the opinions of 1440 Wall Street. This commentary in no way constitutes a solicitation of business or investment advice. It is intended solely for the entertainment of the reader, and the author. No Position in this POS

Comments:

What were the circumstances under which Cuban obtained his Mamma.com stock?

I assume he acquired the stock for substantially less than the price at which he sold it. Thus, it’s unlikely he “lost” money on the sale. It’s probably a lot more accurate to state that his profit was less than he had expected.

Anyway, PIPE deals are generally a bad sign with respect to the future of a company.

Posted by on 11/20/2008 at 02:08 PM

I think he bought it at roughly $4...must be nice knowing your involvement will boost stock when it becomes public knowledge.

Kind of the Buffett effect, except Cuban favors penny stocks I guess.

Posted by on 11/20/2008 at 02:14 PM

Chris Cox grew up in Minnesota and no one from Minnesota could ever be a Lakers fan. He’s not into pro hoops. I have heard he likes to attend pro football games from time to time and the Trojans are his favorite LA team.

Being a consummate politician, his favorite pro football teams in Texas are: Dallas, UT, and Texas Tech. Deep down, however, he wants the Redskins to go to the Super Bowl.

Posted by on 11/21/2008 at 12:55 AM