DAVID PRAET

David Praet is a Director at UHY Corporate Finance, where he advises privately held, middle-market businesses on mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. With nearly 20 years of investment banking experience, he works primarily with founder- and family-owned companies navigating a sale or ownership transition — helping them evaluate options, run a competitive process, and close on terms that reflect the full value of what they've built.

His advisory work spans the full transaction lifecycle, from initial positioning and buyer outreach through negotiation, due diligence, and closing. He advises on both sell-side and buy-side M&A, capital raises, and debt placements, with particular depth in manufacturing, distribution, industrials, automation, consumer products, business services and other closely-held businesses across the middle market.

David brings hands-on analytical capability to every engagement drawing on his background in business valuation, financial modeling, quality of earnings analysis, and working capital assessment. This foundation enables him to anticipate buyer scrutiny, test key deal assumptions, preserve value, and keep transactions on track as complexity arises.

Prior to joining UHY, David spent 16 years at another national accounting firm, where he was a founding member and later a Managing Director of the firm's investment banking group. He helped build the M&A advisory practice from the ground up into an active business serving middle-market clients across the nation.

Certifications

• Master of Arts in Economics, University of Detroit Mercy
• Master of Business Administration, University of Detroit Mercy 
• Bachelor of Business Administration, Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business
• FINRA Series 79 – Investment Banking Representative License
• FINRA Securities Industry Essentials (SIE)
• NASAA Series 63 – Uniform Securities Agent State Law License