By Pete Gallo
Wisconsin-based hedge fund manager Michael Roth and his team at Stark Offshore Management were undoubtedly keeping an avid eye on happenings at Wrigley Field this fall. Sure, it has been 99 years since the Chicago Cubs last won a World Series, but the team's surprise surge this season to National League pennant contention may have some big-league impact on the value of Stark's hedge fund portfolio.
Let me be clear: I would never want to insult someone by insinuating he is a Cubs fan. (Wisconsin is Brewer's Country, and the Brewers and the Cubs are contending for the pennant.) But the Cubs' sudden prowess on the field may throw an unexpected curve ball into an $8.4 billion buyout of the team's parent, the Tribune Company, by real estate tycoon Sam Zell. And what's important here is that the regulatory scorecard kept by the Securities and Exchange Commission...