Mid-Atlantic and Southeast

One septic or wastewater company. Bought to keep, and run for decades.

Gatepost Partners is an investment vehicle run by an entrepreneur who spent 3 years buying family and founder owned businesses at a lower middle market private equity firm. The search is for one business doing $500,000 to $2,000,000 in EBITDA in the Mid-Atlantic or Southeast, bought from an owner who is ready to retire. After closing, operations transition hands. The name stays on the truck and the crew keeps their jobs.

Book a meeting See the criteria

Acquisition Criteria

EBITDA
$500,000 to $2,000,000
Revenue
$2 million to $12 million
Industry
Septic and wastewater services
Geography
Mid-Atlantic and Southeast
Transaction
Majority recapitalization
Download the Factsheet

Majority

Recapitalization, with cash to the owner at closing

5

Business days to an answer on a teaser or a CIM

45 to 90

Days from signed letter of intent to closing

1

Company to buy, and the only one to own

Investment Criteria

One company, bought to keep

Owning one business for decades changes what matters in a sale process. Cash at closing, the name and the crew stay, and a straight answer comes quickly when the fit is wrong. Here is what fits.

Lower Middle Market

EBITDA of $500,000 to $2,000,000, including owner add-backs. Revenue of $2 million to $12 million. Profitable for at least the last 3 years.

Septic and Wastewater

Residential and commercial service work, where pumping, inspection, and maintenance contracts bring customers back on a schedule.

Mid-Atlantic and Southeast

Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Tennessee, Florida, and Alabama. Counties with high septic density and steady population growth fit best.

Majority Recapitalization

Gatepost Partners buys a majority interest, and its founder steps in full-time as president. Your crew stays, and what they know about the routes, the customers, and the county health office is most of what makes the company worth buying. Staying on yourself is available and never required.

A Good Fit

  • An owner in their late 50s or older who wants to stop working
  • 10 or more years in business, with a name people in the county recognize
  • 5 to 40 employees, including a lead technician or foreman who plans to stay
  • Owned trucks and tanks in working condition, with a licensed disposal arrangement
  • Tax returns and a profit and loss statement. That is enough to start.

Out of Scope

  • Start-ups, pre-revenue companies, and turnarounds
  • EBITDA below $500,000 or above $2,000,000
  • Minority positions, since the purchase is a majority interest
  • Companies whose revenue depends on new construction, with little repeat service
  • Locations outside the states listed above

Target Industries

The three segments in focus

Septic and wastewater work is regulated, repeat, and hard to put off. A drain field that backs up on a Saturday gets fixed on a Saturday. A company concentrated in any one of these segments is worth a conversation, and most operators run across two.

Septic Services

Onsite systems for homes and businesses that are not connected to municipal sewer.

Representative Services

  • Residential and commercial tank pumping
  • System installation and replacement
  • Drain field repair and restoration
  • Tank, baffle, and filter service
  • Real estate transfer inspections
  • County permitting and soil evaluation

Liquid Waste Services

Scheduled collection and licensed disposal of non-hazardous liquid waste.

Representative Services

  • Restaurant and commercial grease trap service
  • Grease interceptor pumping and line jetting
  • Non-hazardous liquid waste collection
  • Car wash and industrial pit cleaning
  • Portable sanitation rental and servicing
  • Transport to licensed disposal facilities

Wastewater Infrastructure

Treatment and collection assets, often under municipal or commercial contract.

Representative Services

  • Aerobic treatment unit service
  • Decentralized and package treatment plants
  • Lift station maintenance and repair
  • Sewer line cleaning and hydro-jetting
  • Effluent sampling and compliance reporting
  • Municipal and utility service contracts

How This Works

What you can hold Gatepost to

Selling is a slow, private decision, and you will make it once. These are the rules Gatepost Partners holds itself to while you think it over.

Straight Answers
If the business is not a fit, you hear so on the first call, with the reason. You should not learn that from silence 6 weeks later.
Confidentiality
A confidentiality agreement is signed before you send anything. Your employees, customers, and competitors will not hear about it from Gatepost Partners.
Certainty of Close
Equity and debt are committed before the letter of intent is signed. The price on paper is the price paid at closing.
Continuity
The name stays, the phone number stays, and the crew keeps their jobs. Customers who call on a Sunday get treated the way they always have.
Preparation
Diligence is organized on this side and worked around your schedule. You should not have to hire anyone to sell your company.

The Process

Start with a conversation about what you want next

From the first call to money in your account usually takes 3 to 4 months. You will still be running routes the whole time, so the work stays on this side of the table wherever possible.

  1. 1

    Introductory call

    30 minutes

    A call about the company and what you want to happen after you step back. A confidentiality agreement is signed first.

  2. 2

    In-person meeting

    2 to 3 hours

    A visit to the yard to see the trucks, walk the routes, and meet the people who run the work.

  3. 3

    Letter of intent

    2 to 3 weeks

    Price, structure, and timing in plain English. Equity and debt are committed before signing, so the terms hold.

  4. 4

    Due diligence

    8 to 12 weeks

    A review of financials, routes, equipment, permits, and disposal, run around your schedule. Your team hears about it when you decide to tell them.

  5. 5

    Close

    2 to 3 weeks

    Documents are signed and funds move. You are paid for your majority stake, and daily operations change hands.

About

Meet Chris Kern

Chris Kern Chris Kern hiking at Machu Picchu, Peru Chris Kern at the backcountry gate above Big Sky Resort, Montana

Chris Kern

Founder

chris@tidewaterpartners.com (813) 597-5980 linkedin.com/in/chrishkern

Chris runs a residential water treatment business, mostly softeners and filtration for homes on private wells. The customers are rural homeowners, and the calls come when something has gone wrong with water they cannot do without. Running it taught him what a small service company depends on: a technician who shows up, a phone someone answers, and enough route density to stay profitable at small ticket sizes. That business is also what led him to septic. The house that needs a softener usually has a drain field out back, permitted through the same county office and worked on by many of the same trades.

He spent 3 years as a private equity associate at a lower middle market firm investing in specialty services, value-added distribution, and niche manufacturing, working on platform buyouts and add-on acquisitions of founder and family-owned companies. He supported origination, ran diligence and financing workstreams through to closing, and worked alongside management teams on budgets, KPI reporting, and integration. He lines up equity and debt before signing a letter of intent, so the price in the letter is the price paid at closing. Previously, he was an associate at TGH Ventures, the venture capital group inside Tampa General Hospital, investing in digital health and healthcare services.

Chris lives in Philadelphia. Outside of work, he enjoys attempting, but often failing, to break 80 on the golf course, playing classical piano, and searching for his best next hiking spot. He earned a B.S. in Finance from Florida State University, graduating magna cum laude with honors, and is an MBA candidate at The Wharton School.

Firm Materials

Download the factsheet

One page covering the criteria, the terms, how the process runs, and who is behind the firm. Print it, forward it, or hand it to your accountant.

Gatepost Partners Factsheet

One page. Criteria, process, and background. Updated 2026.

  • Investment approach and size parameters
  • The three target industries, with representative services
  • Founder background
  • Direct contact details
Download the Factsheet or view it in your browser

PDF, 1 page. No email required. Nothing is tracked.

Book a Meeting

Put 30 minutes on the calendar

Pick a time that suits you and it lands directly on the calendar. The first call is a conversation about the business and what you want to happen next. You need no documents for it, and a confidentiality agreement is signed before you send anything.

  • 30 minutes, by phone or video, whichever you prefer
  • Confidential, and it commits you to nothing
  • The person who would buy the company takes the call

Get in Touch

Send a note

Tell Gatepost Partners a little about the company and what you want to happen next. Every message is read personally and answered within 1 business day. Writing stays private and commits you to nothing.

Email

chris@tidewaterpartners.com

Phone

(813) 597-5980

Reply

Within 1 business day

Your information stays private. It will not be sold, and your company will not be listed anywhere.