Audax Private Equity and Lovell Minnick Partners Make Strategic Investment in Fortis

LMP, an existing investor in Fortis, is committing new equity into the joint investment to strengthen the company’s market position and technological capabilities.

Audax Private Equity (“Audax”) and Lovell Minnick Partners (“LMP”) today announced a joint investment in Fortis, a payments technology leader for software providers, ERP customers, and scaling businesses. The investment, which closed on March 11, 2025, will enable Fortis to continue seeking to drive innovation and operational excellence, enhance its product and service offerings, accelerate its M&A growth strategy, and scale infrastructure to meet the evolving needs of businesses. Terms of the investment were not disclosed.

Founded in 2010 and based in Plano, Texas, Fortis has distinguished itself in embedded payments, delivering payment-enablement solutions to software partners, developers, and their businesses. Through its proprietary and integrated platform, Fortis bolsters the software capabilities of its clients via secure, end-to-end payment solutions with the aim of facilitating a reliable and seamless omnichannel-payment experience for businesses, processing billions of dollars in payments annually. LMP made its initial investment in Fortis in December 2019, and since then, the company has expanded its reach across the B2B enterprise and software ecosystem, providing tailored payment solutions that can drive efficiency and improved customer and business experiences.

“When we first invested in Fortis in 2019, we were drawn to the founders’ vision and the strength and capabilities of the company’s technology,” said Trevor Rich, Partner at LMP. "We’re pleased to offer both financial and operational support to advance the company’s mission of offering an unparalleled, holistic commerce experience to its customers.”

“The management team, led by CEO Greg Cohen and Co-Founder Jimmy Nafso, have positioned Fortis as a leader in the embedded payments industry,” said Spencer Hurst, Principal at LMP. “We’re looking forward to continuing to support the company as they build on this momentum and partnering with the Audax team to shape the future of embedded commerce.”

“Fortis’ ability to simplify very complex, multi-channel payment environments through a single integration point represents an integral link in the payments value chain,” noted Tim Mack, Partner at Audax Private Equity. “In our opinion, the Fortis API unlocks omnichannel strategies for businesses and unifies all transaction data to create a single ‘source of truth’ – a powerful value proposition that differentiates Fortis’ software partners, merchants who leverage the technology, and the company itself.”

Since LMP’s investment in 2019, Fortis has completed over 10 acquisitions that collectively have enhanced the company’s integration capabilities and its vertical specialization. Greg Cohen, who was appointed as executive chairman parallel to LMP’s initial investment, has served as CEO since July 2021.

“We’re excited to invest alongside LMP and support an exceptional management team that has built a scaled and differentiated player in the integrated-payments processing space,” added William Allen, a Managing Director at Audax. “Given the company’s track record driving organic and inorganic growth, we believe Fortis represents a compelling fit for our Buy & Build approach.”

"The payments market is undergoing a fundamental transformation, with software platforms needing sophisticated payment capabilities that go far beyond basic processing," said Greg Cohen, CEO of Fortis. "Our philosophy around a sound business model, management team, and capital structure is critical as our organization and the market continues to mature. LMP has been a tremendous partner over the past five years who intimately understands the financial services and payments landscape. The addition of Audax adds financial strength, market expertise, and deep operational resources to accelerate our product roadmap, pursue strategic acquisitions, and expand our global footprint.”

William Blair served as Fortis’ sell-side advisor, while Morgan Lewis served as legal counsel. Raymond James served as the buy-side advisor to Audax Private Equity, while Kirkland & Ellis provided legal counsel to both Audax Private Equity and LMP.

ABOUT FORTIS

Fortis is the leader in embedded payments for software providers, processing billions of dollars annually by delivering comprehensive payment solutions and commerce enablement to software partners and developers. The company’s mission is to forge a holistic commerce experience, guiding businesses to reach uncharted growth and scale. As the solution of choice for the future of payments, Fortis moves commerce closer to invisible with a proprietary platform that supports and strengthens the commerce and payments capabilities of software partners. For more information, visit fortispay.com.

ABOUT AUDAX PRIVATE EQUITY

Headquartered in Boston, with offices in San Francisco, New York, and London, Audax Private Equity manages three strategies: its Flagship and Origins private equity strategies, seeking control buyouts in the core middle and lower middle markets, respectively, and its Strategic Capital strategy that provides customized equity solutions to PE-backed portfolio companies to help drive continued growth. With approximately $19 billion of assets under management as of June 2024, over 280 employees, and 100-plus investment professionals, Audax has invested in more than 170 platforms and 1,350 add-on acquisitions since its founding in 1999. Through our disciplined Buy & Build approach, across six core industry verticals, Audax seeks to help portfolio companies execute organic and inorganic growth initiatives with the aim of fueling revenue expansion, optimizing operations, and significantly increasing equity value. For more information, visit www.audaxprivateequity.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

ABOUT LOVELL MINNICK PARTNERS

Lovell Minnick Partners is a private equity firm with a 25-year track record of partnering with growth-oriented companies. LMP leverages deep sector experience and a broad network of strategic advisors to help founders scale their companies at an accelerated pace. The firm collaborates with management teams seeking to achieve long-term success and value creation through organic growth and strategic acquisitions. Since inception in 1999, LMP has raised over $5 billion of committed capital, invested in more than 50 unique platform companies and completed over 200 add-on acquisitions. LMP targets growth-oriented, middle-market companies with a particular focus on companies in the financial services, business services and financial technology sectors. For more information, please visit www.lmpartners.com.

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