Private Equity Firms in South Carolina

South Carolina's private equity firms sit in two places: Charleston and Mount Pleasant on the coast, and Greenville and Spartanburg upstate.

Manufacturing, consumer and distribution companies are the most common targets. Azalea Capital in Greenville backs family-owned consumer, food and industrial companies across the Southeast with $1 million to $10 million of EBITDA, through buyouts, recapitalizations and growth deals.

Two Charleston firms are specialists. Frontline Healthcare Partners buys multi-site healthcare and healthcare technology companies with $1 million to $5 million of EBITDA. Liberty Hall Capital Partners focuses on aerospace and defense and invests $100 million to $200 million of equity per platform, so its own platforms are far larger than most companies in this directory.

The other two work differently from a typical fund. WJ Partners in Spartanburg is a family partnership that invests its own money with no exit deadline. Route 2 Capital Partners in Mount Pleasant provides junior capital, usually debt with an equity co-investment behind another sponsor's purchase, so it would seldom lead a sale itself.

A buyer close to home can visit often and already knows the local lenders, accountants and attorneys. Even so, these firms also buy outside South Carolina, and many active buyers of South Carolina companies are based in other states. The better questions are whether a firm has bought businesses like yours, at your size, and what happened to the founders and managers after closing.

The profiles below are built to answer those questions. Each one lists the firm's announced deals from the last two years, with dates and links to the source, along with its stated size range and current portfolio, so an owner can quickly see which South Carolina firms are active in their industry.

Greymont is paid by buyers, never by owners. Greymont can help South Carolina owners compare these firms with national buyers active in the Southeast and find the right fit.

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