Why did Naked sell out to Photon, a small unknown company, rather than say, WPP? AdAge has actually done a bit of journalism and asked the team for the answer.
Naked had been in talks with several large companies including Interpublic. The small shop pulled out of the deal due fear they would be lost in the shuffle of the eight billion other companies Interpublic owns. Naked has this to say in a press release about their choice of Photon:
“Unlike the large multinational networks, they respect the individual businesses within their portfolio and steer away from consolidation, choosing instead to let each business operate with complete autonomy.”
CEO of Photon Matt Bailey said:
“We work for the businesses we own. We’re not a hierarchy or corporate structure where companies report up to us.”
Photon paid $37 million up front with deferred payment the total package could be twice that.
(picture from Adage)