Ad Age: Grey Global Group Goes on the Block

Massive ad agency Grey contacted brokers to consider putting itself up for sale. The number seven worldwide billing agency is know as one of the most stable firms, with several large and steady clients, as well as one of the least creative. Most large agency holding groups would find the purchase partly problematic, as the industry's consolidation in the past two decades has led to unavoidable large conflicts of interest when big agencies combine. Grey reportedly hired Goldman Sachs to explore potential selling opportunities.

The publicly traded agency has a current market cap (after a pre-announcement run-up) of about $1.2 billion on a 2003 net profit of $29 million. Its trailing price over earnings ratio sits at a relatively rich 41. It also has a rather attractive cash hoard of about $436 million.