Stella Legal Launches AI-Powered M&A Division
Law firm Stella Legal has launched a new M&A advisory division built specifically for the "AI era of dealmaking." The group will use a proprietary AI platform to accelerate due diligence, risk assessment, and transaction management, reflecting a broader shift toward tech-enabled M&A processes.
The new M&A advisory division at Stella Legal is co-led by senior advisors Richard Harroch and Lou Andreozzi. Harroch brings experience from over 250 M&A transactions in the technology sector, including his time as Managing Director at VantagePoint Capital Partners. Andreozzi formerly served as CEO of LexisNexis North American Legal Markets and Chairman of Bloomberg Law, focusing on legal technology and practice management tools. This launch comes as the M&A market is experiencing significant activity, with 2025 marking the second-largest deal year in history with $4.9 trillion in global M&A value, according to PitchBook. Stella Legal CEO Tyson Ballard notes that despite the market's evolution, the underlying deal infrastructure and processes, particularly due diligence, have remained largely manual for the past two decades. The adoption of AI in the M&A space is still in its early stages but is expected to grow rapidly. While only about 16-21% of M&A practitioners reported using generative AI in their processes in 2023 and early 2025, over half expect to integrate it by 2027. Private equity firms are notable early adopters, with over 60% using at least one AI tool for sourcing, screening, or diligence. AI's primary application in M&A is to accelerate traditionally labor-intensive tasks. For buyers, AI is embedded into the due diligence workflow to semantically analyze contract portfolios, moving beyond simple keyword searches. Industry estimates suggest AI can reduce the time spent on due diligence document reviews by as much as 70%. This allows deal teams to focus more on qualitative aspects like assessing management quality and strategic fit. For sellers, AI-driven preparation allows for a comprehensive analysis of their own business to identify and address potential risks before they can erode value during negotiations. This proactive, data-driven approach enables sellers to control the narrative and negotiate from a position of strength. The broader impact of AI on dealmaking involves transforming unstructured data from financial statements, news, and market reports into actionable insights for identifying targets and assessing risk. This quantitative approach enhances valuation accuracy and helps in stress-testing financial assumptions, which is critical for investment decision-making. By 2026, AI is expected to become the standard initial approach for synergy and financial diligence.
