Advisory group Teneo, which has a large presence in Dublin, has received a minority investment from an asset manager owned by Liechtenstein’s royal family, in a deal that values the advisory group at $2.3 billion (€1.99 billion) and ends a long-running process by the firm’s owner CVC to sell down its stake.
Under the deal, Teneo will remain majority owned by private equity group CVC, which acquired the firm at a valuation of more than $700 million in 2019, according to people familiar with the matter.
Liechtenstein’s LGT Capital Partners has become a minority owner, they added.
Teneo, which describes itself as a “CEO advisory firm”, is among the largest public relations and financial communications groups, and also counsels on corporate turnarounds and restructuring.
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It advises executives and boards of blue-chip companies such as oil major Chevron and UK-listed Unilever and Tesco, and has drawn scrutiny for its work for Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
[ Former tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald joins consultancy firm Teneo as adviserOpens in new window ]
Teneo’s Irish business has 100 people working across five business segments with annual revenues of about €20 million.
The Irish arm, which is led by Michael O’Keeffe, numbers former Fine Gael minister Frances Fitzgerald as a senior adviser. She is on a Teneo Ireland advisory board that is chaired by businessman Gary McGann and includes former Ireland and Lions rugby captain Brian O’Driscoll.
LGT, which has more than $100 billion of assets, has acquired minority stakes in companies since 2010.
CVC — which bought out BC Partners’ stake in Teneo when it invested in 2019 — will remain the majority owner while members of Teneo management will also retain shareholdings, following the LGT deal, the people said.
The new money from LGT will allow CVC to distribute some funds to its backers, another person said, at a time when private equity groups have been under pressure to return cash to their investors amid a slowdown in deals.
CVC had explored various options for Teneo, including a sale, before opting for a deal that hands LGT a minority stake, one of the people said, adding that LGT would have a double-digit percentage ownership.
Globally, Teneo competes with the likes of Brunswick, FTI Consulting and FGS Global, which was acquired by KKR at a valuation of around $1.6 billion last year amid industry consolidation.
It was founded in 2011 by US businessman Doug Band — a former aide to Bill Clinton — and Tipperary man Declan Kelly, who was appointed by Hillary Clinton as a US economic envoy to Northern Ireland.
However, a series of scandals led to two of its three founders departing abruptly during the pandemic. The company is now led by another co-founder Paul Keary.
New York-based Teneo has expanded through acquisitions, including boutique UK PR groups Tulchan, Blue Rubicon and Stockwell.
It also bought Deloitte’s British restructuring business in 2021. People familiar with the company said that unit had performed significantly better than many of the firm’s traditional business lines, which face fierce competition in a sector that is threatened by the growth of artificial intelligence.
Bloomberg News first reported LGT’s investment.
Teneo, CVC and LGT declined to comment. - Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
