Page 260 - James Caan - The Real Deal

The Real Deal

42 per cent. I had long seen them buying into the company as the
start of some kind of transition and I felt it was probably time to
move on. After all, the way the company was structured meant it
was pretty much run by the joint-venture CEOs: I had little to do
with people they employed as that would have compromised their
authority. They were now all individually successful and needed
me less and less. I was no longer making the difference I once had,
and that was becoming less rewarding for me.
With the way the economy was, my holding was undervalued
and Advent saw an opportunity to buy when the market was low.
After some protracted legal discussions about valuations and terms
we did a deal, and I walked away from the company I had
founded, the company I had loved and nurtured and for which I
had worked eighteen hours a day. I didn’t know what I was going
to do, but I realised that my thirst for change in the months after
my father’s passing had not been satisfied. I was excited about
what the future held.

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