Consello - led by Tipperary born businessman Declan Kelly, and which counts American football legend, Tom Brady as one of its partners, has made its first investment which has a significant Irish link.
Mr Kelly's New York headquartered Consello Group, which also counts tennis legend Serena Williams among its senior advisors, has announced that it has acquired a majority stake in ProSearch Strategies.
ProSearch Strategies is a leading provider of tech-enabled legal services, using AI and data science, to enterprise customers, with over 200 employees in Dublin, the US and India.
The transaction, which marks the first investment for Mr Kelly’s Consello Capital, sees the Consello Group acquire a business that has a base at its European headquarters at Regus House, at Harcourt Centre in Dublin.
Mr Kelly only established the Madison Avenue-based Consello early last year which focuses on investing, merchant banking, corporate development and mergers and acquisitions.
A co-founder of public relations firm Teneo, the 55-year old Mr Kelly resigned as CEO of Teneo in June 2021 following allegations of his drunken misconduct at a Global Citizen fundraiser in May 2021.
The Pro-Search deal underlines Mr Kelly’s business comeback since his controversial departure from Teneo more than two years ago.
"ProSearch has built a reputation as a best-in-class provider of technology solutions to the legal departments of the Fortune 500 and we are thrilled to be a part of their growth journey," Mr Kelly said.
"This is an ecosystem we know very well at Consello given our leadership team’s many years of experience running, building and advising many of the world’s most important companies," he said.
"And as our first investment, this transaction represents an important moment for Consello Capital, as well as the wider Consello business. We are proud to be able to share this important milestone with the ProSearch team and look forward to identifying more ways we can continue to drive value for our partners and investors," he added.
The financial terms of the deal have now been disclosed.
Along with Consello having on board Tom Brady and Serena Williams on board, it has also partnered with former President and CEO of WW International (previously Weight Watchers), Mindy Grossman and former global Chief Executive of Dentsu International, Wendy Clark.
ProSearch helps large enterprises more effectively navigate and resolve litigation, regulatory and privacy matters.
The company's products and services are designed specifically to support the in-house legal teams of large companies, delivering improved efficiency, speed and cost-savings. Founded in 2005, ProSearch is a critical partner to a significant number of the world’s top multinational corporations.
The managing Partner at Consello Capital, Peter Morrow, said that "more than ever, business leaders are looking for actionable ways to use technology and AI to improve their business processes and thereby create shareholder value".
"ProSearch is a great example of a B2B company that helps its clients do just that, with a relentless focus on using technology to drive efficiency," he stated.
Co-founder and CEO of ProSearch, Julia Hasenzahl, said that Consello's connectivity to the Fortune 500 "and their team’s breadth of expertise make them the ideal partner for our company during this next stage of growth".
"This investment will allow us to continue to grow ProSearch and reimagine the eDiscovery and review process with generative AI," he said.
Reporting by Gordon Deegan
