2002→2026
Celebrating Watermark at 25!
In our 25th year serving business owners in successfully exiting ownership in their companies and CEOs in capturing significant ROI from transacting acquisitions. We invite you to see the contributions we have made to clients, our employees, and the M&A industry.
A quarter century of lasting impact
In 2002, Watermark Advisors was founded on a simple conviction: that a business owner facing the most important decision of their career deserved a trusted guide. For over a quarter century, we’ve guided owners through mergers, acquisitions and valuations, launched careers of innumerable young people, and coined “the M&A Bridge.” Watermark at 25! celebrates all our past and present relationships, and the lasting impact we believe we have had on people, businesses, and processes.
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Our Clients
Durable relationships — owners who come back, and send others across the bridge.
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Our Employees
Investing in the next generation, mentoring our Interns, Analysts, Associates, and VPs to long successful careers.
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The M&A Industry
A quarter century setting the standard on the M&A Bridge across the Southeast and beyond.
Discover Watermark’s History in Numbers
- 25Years in business
- 119Clients served
- 38M&A engagements
- 57Valuations
- 13Private capital raises
- 1,000Hours volunteering with local charities
- 96Total team members since 2002
- 15MDs, VPs, Associates & Analysts
- 9Senior Advisors & Board
The interviews
Hear the Inside Stories from M&A Clients & Former Team Members!
Latest episode
Building and Selling an Empire in the Scrap Metal Industry
Michael MunafoCo-Owner and CFOCarolina's Recycling Group (CRG)
In this kickoff episode of the Watermark at 25! series, Michael Munafo shares his journey of building and selling Carolina's Recycling Group, once one of the largest independent scrap metal recyclers in the Southeast. Listen as he details how mergers built the company, the decision to sell to OmniSource, and his advice for owners preparing for an eventual exit.
All episodes
Newest first · older conversations below
More conversations on the way
New episodes will appear here as they’re released throughout the anniversary series.
2002 – 2026
A Quarter Century of Mergers & Acquisitions
From a two-person firm built for the middle market the big banks left behind, to more than a hundred clients navigated through the M&A process for over a quarter century, here are some of our significant milestones along the way.
- 2002
July 2002 — Watermark Advisors is founded in Greenville, SC, built for the middle market the big banks were vacating.
- 2003
First client assignment; helps Bill Amick, CEO of Amick Farms, negotiate an acquisition; joins FINRA; hires its first intern — the first of 67 interns.
- 2004
Advises Carolina’s Recycling Group in its sale to OmniSource.
- 2005
Sells USC-incubator spinout KryoTech to Cohu’s Delta Design.
- 2006
Advises Carry-On Trailer in its staged sale to Kinderhook Industries, a large PE firm based in New York, and hires its first full-time analyst.
- 2007
Advises Innovative Container, a “Fastest Growing SC Company,” in its sale to BB&T Capital Markets, and helps early-stage Selah Technologies raise capital.
- 2008
Closes a Series A private capital raise, opens a New York office, adds four Senior Advisors, and moves to Falls Place in downtown Greenville’s Falls Park corridor.
- 2009
Advises Encompass Group on its joint venture with Hill-Rom Holdings, and helps Michael Cinquemani form Master PT.
- 2011
Dr. David Furse, Adjunct Professor of Strategy at Vanderbilt, joins as Strategy Consultant to help clients prepare better for M&A.
- 2012
Advises Florida-based Gowaiter in its sale, and begins serving as co-manager on private placements for Green Cloud Technologies, LeanKit, Coachman Energy, Covenant Surgical Partners and others.
- 2015
Launches the Master Classes in M&A for acquirers in partnership with Clemson’s Center for Corporate Learning which occurred through 2019. Completes a Series C private capital raise for growth.
- 2016
Advises Richard Jones in the sale of 80-year-old Ripley Lighting Controls to Electro Switch.
- 2017
Assists four clients in North Carolina and Georgia with their strategic acquisitions.
- 2018
Trademarks The M&A Bridge, its comprehensive, collaborative approach to M&A.
- 2019
Advises the sale of safety-consulting firm kVA to UL (Underwriters Laboratories).
- 2020
COVID grinds the investment banking market to a halt in Q2, but it restarts in late summer as M&A processes are challenged.
- 2021
Advises Southeastern Evaluation in its sale to Class Valuation, owned by PE firm Iron Grid Capital, and South American animal-premix company Iluma Alliance on a U.S. acquisition.
- 2023
Advises 50-year-old Coastal Wire’s sale to Apollo-owned Accent Wire, and Lintech International on its first acquisition, Canada’s Andicor Specialty Chemicals.
- 2026
Celebrating our 25th year in business.
Thank you
25 Years in Business. Because of You.
To our clients, thank you for trusting us with such an important endeavor. To our team members, thank you for putting our clients’ interests ahead of your own by putting your talent and heart into every engagement. To our investors and collaborative partners, thank you for your belief in Watermark’s mission and helping us achieve it. To vendors and friends who supported us along the way, thank you. We are grateful for each of you.