Private investment firm GI Partners is to sell Consilio, a specialist in eDiscovery, document review, risk management, and legal consulting services, to investment funds managed by Stone Point Capital (Stone Point).
GI Partners simultaneously acquired Consilio and Advanced Discovery in 2018, combining the businesses to form a global leader in eDiscovery. Following a successful integration of the two companies, GI Partners and management acquired DiscoverReady later that year. The combinations brought together three highly regarded management teams with complementary capabilities into one global eDiscovery leader with a full suite of end-to-end solutions capable of supporting the largest and most complex legal matters. As a result of these combinations and organic growth, Consilio now serves over 3,000 clients, across 45 offices and nine countries.
Hoon Cho, Managing Director and Co-Head of Private Equity at GI Partners, says: “We are thrilled with the outcome of our investment in Consilio. Our thesis was based on our conviction that Consilio’s combination with Advanced Discovery would create a differentiated market leader that would enhance customer success for its clients and create a formidable M&A platform to accelerate growth. The company grew rapidly in the three years since, including through the pandemic, and now stands better positioned than ever to continue its strong growth in the broader eDiscovery industry.”
Closing of the sale of Consilio is expected to occur in May. Immediately thereafter, Stone Point and Aquiline Capital Partners (Aquiline), which has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Xact Data Discovery (XDD), a leading international provider of eDiscovery, data management and managed review services, intend to combine the Consilio and XDD businesses.
Andy Macdonald, CEO of Consilio, says: “We are grateful to GI Partners for their invaluable support and strategic guidance over the last three years. Their support for continued investments in our growth allowed us to competitively deliver exceptional service to our clients and strengthen our global leadership position. We are now excited to start our next growth chapter with XDD and our new partners at Stone Point and Aquiline.”
Jeff Sheu, Managing Director at GI Partners, adds: “We would like to thank Andy and the entire leadership team for their partnership and the exceptional results they have generated. Through our targeted investments in the company’s technology, people, and scale, Consilio’s comprehensive legal technology and services offerings make it uniquely capable of supporting the world’s highest stakes legal matters. We look forward to following Consilio’s continued success.”
Jefferies LLC served as exclusive financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to GI Partners and Consilio.
