Bradenton firm to merge with HR tech company

A professional employer organization headquartered in Bradenton has joined forces with a human resources firm in a merger that officials say will create a full-service human capital management solution for small and mid-sized businesses.

CoAdvantage, based on Riverfront Boulevard, helps businesses with payroll, benefits, risk management, employee development and other HR functions. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. 

The firm is merging with Pennsylvania-based PrimePay, a payroll and human resources software company.

Merging will provide more choices for customers as far as payroll and HR services, including competitive benefits programs for retaining talent as well as a proprietary back-end technology stack to support mid-sized businesses and franchises as they scale, according to a statement. 

“We are thrilled to work with the PrimePay team and excited for the opportunities this merger will create for our customers and their employees,” CoAdvantage CEO John Cumbee says in a statement. “Leveraging the deep industry expertise of both organizations and our complementary technology strategies will allow us to offer a more seamless and comprehensive set of HR and payroll solutions, driving consistent, long-term growth. … We are positioned to deliver a unified, best-in-class [human capital management] experience for the SMBs, mid-sized firms and franchises we support.”

Cumbee will become CEO of both companies upon the merger closing, while PrimePay’s current CEO Scott Johnson and COO Robb Ellis will serve as strategic advisors during the early stages of the merger as part of a planned transition. 

Once the deal closes, PrimePay will operate as a legally separate entity "but as a standalone business unit of CoAdvantage for the foreseeable future," according to a statement.

The merger is expected to close in mid-2025. Both companies are within the portfolio of Aquiline, a private investment firm specializing in financial services and technology.