How A Successful M&A Transaction Turned Into A Nightmare, and What He Did Next | Peter Bray

The Wise Exit

E34: On today's episode of Cashing Out, we speak to the founder and CEO of Bray & Co - Peter Bray. Peter has held executive roles with some of the largest ad agencies in the world, including Saatchi and Saatchi, where he was CEO of The Brand Shop and WPP, where he was the firm's global head of digital.

But early in his career, Peter was a highly successful agency entrepreneur who sold his first ad agency to a public holding company in Australia in 2010. Now, Peter bet the farm on this exit and tied 100% of his financial outcome to his buyers public stock, which dropped 97% in the first six months because of fraud at the board level.

Although Peter's dream of a life changing financial windfall disappeared seemingly overnight, he was able to leverage his experience and reputation into enormous professional wins. In our conversation, we talk about doing due diligence on your buyer, taking chips off the table when you have a chance, and how putting a win on the board by selling your company can elevate your professional career to new heights.

Episode Sponsor:
Thanks to DoerenMayhew for sponsoring this episode of the Cashing Out podcast! DoerenMayhew is one of Forbes best tax and accounting firms in the United States. Check out their Quality of Earnings (QofE) offerings, and everything else they can help you with at doeren.com.

Episode Highlights:

• (4:13) Peter's beginnings into entrepreneurship
• (6:29) Being part of Aussie Mail's meteoric rise... from 30 to 450 employees
• (8:13) Breaking off on his own to create his first venture - Clear Blue Day
• (11:54) Building Clear Blue Day into a massive brand agency in Australia
• (17:39) Choosing an acquirer, and feeling like it was the perfect decision
• (20:51) The M&A exit of a lifetime that turned into a nightmare
• (34:46) How Peter bounced back

Where To Find Todd Sullivan (Host):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/toddfsullivan/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/Todd_Sullivan

Where To Find Peter Bray (Guest):

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peteralexbray/

Episode 34 Required Reading:

• Bray & Co
• Doeren Mayhew

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