Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban Buys 1M Shares of JC Penney

Updated on

Mark Cuban, a billionaire investor who owns the Dallas Mavericks revealed that he purchased I million shares of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) during a previous interview with CNBC’s Street Signs.

Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban Buys 1M Shares of JC Penney

Mark Cuban on J.C. Penney stocks

Cuban said the stock of the century old and embattled department store chain was his latest investment.

According to Cuban, he is interested in meeting Mike Ullman, CEO of J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP) and discuss his business ideas on Shark Tank, a reality television series on ABC featuring aspiring entrepreneurs. Cuban is a regular panelist of the show.

A related report from The Dallas News quoted an email statement from Cuban who said, “It’s a great fit. I do shop some at Penney’s. That’s all I can say,” when asked about his investment in the department store chain.

Hedge fund managers boost sakes in J.C. Penney

Cuban is the latest investor who acquired a large stake in J.C. Penney Company, Inc. (NYSE:JCP). Hedge fund managers Larry Robbins of Glenview Capital, Kyle Bass of Hayman Capital, and Richard Perry of Perry Capital boosted their stake in the company last week.

During the CNBC interview, Cuban also commented on activist investors such as Carl Icahn. He said when he was still studying at business school, he learned that “when you owned a share of stock you owned a part of the company,” however, he said, “We’re no longer owners,” because the stock markets became platforms wherein investors just trade in and out. He said, “It’s become a platform more for hacking than for company ownership,” he added.

Other investments

In addition, Cuban also discussed his investment in Ranku, an education startup. He believes that the startup will disrupt the education business because of rising tuition fees and the current student loan crisis.

Cuban pointed out, “There’s a bubble right now in tuition costs for higher education and that has to change. Parents can’t afford to send their kid to traditional schools.” According to him, Ranku provides an option for students to get an online degree. According to him, Ranku’s business model is similar to Kayak Software Corp (NASDAQ:KYAK), an online travel site that allows travelers to search hundreds of travel sites immediately.

Ranku’s founder, Kim Taylor explained, “People are just going to shop for degrees based on job outcomes. We want to close the skills gap and push people to better decisions.”

Cuban added that Ranku will not include for-profit education companies because he believes students are “not getting their money’s worth.”  Furthermore, he said that in order to control the cost of tuition, student loans guaranteed by the federal government should have a limit.

Leave a Comment