NBA team owner reports Carmike Cinemas stake

NEW YORK (AP) — Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks basketball team and co-owner of the Landmark Theaters cinema chain, has acquired a 9.4 percent stake in Carmike Cinemas Inc., according to a regulatory filing on Monday.

In the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Cuban reported buying 1.2 million Carmike shares on the open market for roughly $2.8 million of his own funds. According to the filing, Cuban has been acquiring the shares through his personal investment account since mid-October.

Cuban, who has been controversial within the National Basketball Association — racking up more than $1 million in fines for his behavior on the court — has recently become the target of civil lawsuit alleging insider trading.

In November, federal regulators accused Cuban of using confidential information to bail out of an investment in search-engine company Mamma.com Inc. in 2004, avoiding about $750,000 in losses. Cuban has denied any wrongdoing.

Cuban is not facing jail time, but could be forced to pay a penalty of close to $3 million if he is found guilty.

According to the SEC’s case, Cuban told his broker to sell his Mamma.com shares after the company’s then-chief executive confidentially told him of a stock offering that would dilute the value of stock held by current investors.