mergers and acquisitions and capital raising. It is one of the last privately held investment banks on Wall Street, after other firms went public, including Goldman Sachs in the early 2000s. In 2010, the firm sold a substantial minority to two private equity firms: the Carlyle Group and Kelso & Company. The firm was led by James J. Dunne III, who left Bear Stearns in 1988 to help found Sandler, and Jonathan Doyle, who joined the firm in 1990. Both served as senior managing principals of the firm. Sandler O'Neill celebrated its 25th anniversary in 2013. In 2019, the company was acquired by Piper Sandler Companies. September 11th attacks On September 11, 2001, the firm, which was headquartered on the 104th floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center, lost 68 of its 171 employees, 40 percent of its overall workforce. One third of the firm's partners, almost the entire equity desk, the entire syndicate desk, and all of the firm's bond traders died during the attack. Among those lost were Herman Sandler and Christopher Quackenbush, two of the three senior executives who managed the firm. Welles Crowther, an equities trader for the firm now known as "The Man in the Red Bandana" also died during the attack. In addition to personnel, the company lost its entire computer system and nearly all of its records in the destruction. On September 19, three days after the U.S. financial markets reopened, Dunne said on CNBC that Sandler O'Neill was open for business, having restarted operations as early as September 12. After the attacks, the firm operated temporarily out of the Solow Building, in space provided by Banc of America. In early 2002, Sandler O'Neill moved from the Solow Building to 919 Third Avenue. The firm remained in that building until another move in 2012. See also List of tenants in Two World Trade Center References External links SNL Profile Former investment banks of the United States American companies established in 1988 Financial services companies established in 1988 Banks established in 1988 Banks disestablished in 2020 2020 mergers and acquisitions Financial services companies based in New York City 1988 establishments in New York City