The firm’s private equity arm, founded by Tipperary-born businessman Declan Kelly and with American rugby legend Tom Brady as a partner, has The first investment with significant links to Ireland was made.
Mr Kelly’s New York-based Consello Group, which also counts tennis legend Serena Williams among its senior advisers, announced it had acquired a majority stake in ProSearch Strategies.
ProSearch Strategies is a leading provider of technology-enabled legal services using artificial intelligence and data science to enterprise clients, with more than 200 employees in Dublin, the United States and India.
The deal marks the first investment by Mr Kelly’s Consello Capital, with Consello Group acquiring the business at its European headquarters at Regus House in Harcourt Center, Dublin.
Mr. Kelly founded Consello on Madison Avenue early last year to focus on investments, commercial banking, corporate development and mergers and acquisitions.
Mr Kelly, 55, co-founder of public relations firm Teneo, resigned as chief executive of Teneo in June 2021 after being accused of drunken misconduct at a Global Citizen fundraising event in May 2021.
“ProSearch has built a reputation as a best-in-class technology solutions provider,” Mr Kelly said on Thursday, underscoring Mr Kelly’s business resurgence since his controversial departure from Teneo more than two years ago. Fortune 500 legal department and we are excited to be a part of their growth journey.”
Consello CEO and Chairman added: “We at Consello understand this ecosystem very well, given our leadership team’s years of experience operating, building and advising many of the world’s most important companies.”
“As our first investment, this transaction represents an important moment for Consello Capital and the wider Consello business. “We are proud to share this important milestone with the ProSearch team and look forward to finding ways to further to continue creating value for our partners and investors. ”
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. In addition to Tom Brady and Serena Williams joining Consello, he is working with Mindy Grossman, former president and CEO of WW International (formerly Weight Watchers) and Wendy Clark, former global CEO of Dentsu International.
ProSearch helps large enterprises handle and resolve litigation, regulatory and privacy issues more effectively.
The company’s suite of products and services is designed specifically to support in-house legal teams at large companies, increasing efficiency, speed and cost savings. Founded in 2005, ProSearch is an important partner of many of the world’s top multinational companies.
Consello “More than ever, business leaders need to find viable ways to use technology and artificial intelligence to improve their business processes to create shareholder value,” said Peter Morrow, managing partner at Consello Capital.
He said: “ProSearch is a great example of a B2B company helping customers do just that and working tirelessly to leverage technology to drive efficiencies.
ProSearch co-founder and CEO Julia Hasenzahl said Consello’s connections to Fortune 500 companies “and their team’s extensive expertise make them an ideal partner for the next phase of our company’s growth.”
“This investment will allow us to continue to grow ProSearch and reimagine the eDiscovery and examination process using generative artificial intelligence,” he said.