We all know that losing talent - a key intangible asset - can cost a company. But how about a loss as large as 3 cents a share? That is what the lose of Sammy Sosa is costing the Chicago Tribune. From today's New York Times:
The Tribune Company, the media conglomerate whose holdings include the Cubs, said in a regulatory filing Friday that last month's trade of Sosa to the Baltimore Orioles would cause it to take a $13.5 million pretax charge in the first quarter.
The transaction merited only a two-sentence mention in Tribune's 114-page annual report, filed Friday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
But Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune's chief executive, said this week that the timing of the trade caused Tribune to accelerate the payment of Sosa's salary, reducing the company's first-quarter net income by nearly 3 cents a share.
Now, I wonder what happened to the valuation of the Orioles?
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