LLR Partners Backs Payments Industry Leader Kevin Jones to Form Celero Commerce

LLR’s investment in Celero will be used to fund organic growth and strategic M&A which initially includes a strategic investment in UMS Banking

Nashville, TN – LLR Partners today announced the formation of Celero Commerce (“Celero”) a vertically-focused, integrated commerce solutions provider. Kevin Jones, the incoming president of the Electronic Transactions Association (“ETA”) and founder and former CEO of Anovia Payments, will serve as Celero’s Chief Executive Officer. As part of the formation of the company, Celero has made a strategic investment in UMS Banking (“UMS”), a full-service merchant acquirer, which will provide the core payment processing infrastructure for Celero. Joyce Gaines, UMS co-founder, will work alongside the Celero team to continue to provide industry leading products and service to existing UMS partners and customers.

As the $6 trillion payments market continues to grow and mature, merchants are increasingly demanding a more comprehensive business solution rather than many, disparate business tools. Celero provides an integrated solution to help meet the needs of business owners in an increasingly competitive marketplace, allowing them to focus on running their business, rather than managing multiple third party software vendors and payment service providers.

“As the payment market evolves, customers are demanding fast, frictionless, technology-integrated solutions to manage their business. With Celero, merchants will now be able to seamlessly serve their customers with technology that is integrated into their core payment processing systems,” said Kevin Jones, CEO of Celero. “Our team is excited to partner with LLR, as the firm’s deep payments experience and relationships across the financial services and technology ecosystems will help Celero become a leading commerce solutions provider.”

“Despite the magnitude of the payments market, approximately two-thirds of U.S.-based businesses still do not accept payment cards, and those that do are being driven by market demand to upgrade their technology to enable a faster, more seamless, omni-channel commerce experience. This creates a large addressable market opportunity for Celero,” said Ryan Goldenberg, Vice President at LLR Partners. “LLR, in conjunction with Kevin Jones, has formed Celero to capitalize on the growing market opportunity and invest in technology, software, distribution and people.”

“We are excited to announce our investment in Celero and UMS. In partnership with Kevin and his senior leadership team, LLR’s investment will be used to drive growth, both organically and through acquisition. We look forward to building the leading commerce platform for small and medium-sized businesses,” added Mitchell Hollin, Partner at LLR Partners.

About LLR Partners LLR Partners is a middle market private equity firm committed to creating long-term value by growing its portfolio companies. LLR invests in several industries, with a focus on technology, healthcare and services businesses. Founded in 1999 and with more than $3.5 billion raised across five funds, LLR is a flexible provider of capital for growth, recapitalizations and buyouts. For more information about LLR and advice for scaling growth companies, visit our new website at www.llrpartners.com.

About Celero Commerce Based in Nashville, Tennessee, Celero Commerce is a full-service, integrated electronic commerce solutions provider powered by leading edge technology, strategic partnerships, and business intelligence, all moving at the speed of modern business. Celero offers payment processing services, business management software, and data intelligence to small and medium-sized businesses, empowering them to drive growth and profitability. Learn more at www.celerocommerce.com.