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To: Glenn Petersen who wrote (51873)5/24/2006 1:14:03 AM
From: stockman_scott  Read Replies (1) of 104155
 
Glenn: I saw the Cubs' President Andy McFail on the Comcast Sportsnet program tonight...He didn't want to make time to do an interactive interview with a group of reporters...he did a short one-on-one interview...Andy McFail may have good intentions but I don't think he has assembled the right management team and the right talent to get the job done...McFail must realize that his legacy is on the line...His team is embarassing for Tribune and for the fans...I have a hunch that the Cubs will see a fall-off in fan support -- fewer people will go to the games, buy the merchandise, and listen to the broadcasts IF the Cubs stay on the current trendline. It's clear that the CEO of Tribune (Dennis FitzSimons) lacks the sense of urgency and focus to position his company to outperform any of their publicly traded peer companies in the media industry. It shouldn't surprise anyone that Tribune's CEO is on the cover of this week's Crain's Chicago Business -- and the story is not positive...Tribune has 97% of the company's foundation money in Tribune stock...Of course the shares of the company are down 47% since early 2004 and the foundation's portfolio is shrinking fast. Some say it's a conflict of interest for the company CEO of Tribune to also be Chairman of the Tribune Foundation (it helps insulate management and makes it tougher for outside shareholders to take over the company). If you look at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (the largest in North America) they have 0% of their assets invested in Microsoft...The well-run foundations always diversify and some even sell off all the stock from their primary sponsors. Anyway, it will be interesting to see how Tribune deals with this new level of scrutiny...The company has UNDERperformed the S&P 500 index (when you consider total return to investors) for the last 15 years...that's a long time for a company to have performance problems. I really think that the Cubs have to get out from under the Tribune umbrella...This is a great time for buyers to approach the company as the team is clearly not as valuable as it was in 2004...Tribune management may be in love with the Cubs but they should do what's right for the team and sell it to a committed private investor (or a private syndicate). Tribune management is running out of time to turn their company around. It's possible that some large Hedge Funds or Private Equity firms could make life very difficult for them...A new owner would most likely break up the company and sell off all non-core assets like the Cubs.
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