How do I sell my logistics company in Singapore without customers or staff finding out?
Off-market and NDA-gated. Nothing is publicly listed and nothing carries your name. Early materials use a reference code instead of your company name and address, buyers see identifying details only after signing an NDA you have approved by name, and you decide when your team, your key customers and your overseas agents are told. In freight that discipline matters, because competitors are often the first to hear and the first to call your customers.
What is my logistics company worth?
It is priced off normalised earnings, meaning the accounts adjusted for owner-specific costs and one-off years, so a buyer sees what the business earns in a normal year. Profits lifted by past freight-rate spikes are averaged back down. What moves the number most is how much revenue is contracted rather than spot, customer concentration, whether the sales team and agents stay, lease tenure and, for trucking, fleet value. Owner-operated logistics companies in Singapore typically change hands at roughly 3 to 4 times normalised EBITDA, with up to about 5.5 times only for larger, contract-led businesses with competing buyers. We give you a written valuation under NDA, for a fixed fee credited against our success fee if you sell with us.
Who buys logistics companies in Singapore?
Mainly regional and international logistics groups adding capacity or a Singapore base, including Japanese acquirers, listed Singapore groups building scale, and competitors buying customers, contracts or warehouse space. Now and then the management team buys the business itself. A strategic buyer may pay for your warehouse capacity or your trade lanes, while a competitor may value only the customer book. Approaching several quietly, at the same time, is usually what protects the price.
What happens to my warehouse lease or JTC premises when I sell?
It is often one of the biggest factors in the price, because the earnings depend on the space. JTC usually has to approve an assignment of its leases, and many leases carry conditions on use, subletting or changes in ownership, so the terms need reading at the start. Short remaining tenure tends to cap value however good the earnings are. If you own the property, it is usually valued separately from the business. Check the specifics with your lawyer before any buyer is approached.
What does Clearmere charge to sell a logistics company?
Our sale fee is success-based and paid on completion: no sale, no fee. A written valuation is a separate fixed fee, agreed and paid before we start, and credited in full against our success fee if you sign with us within 6 months and the sale completes. The first conversation, a short questionnaire and our written recommendation on which valuation fits are free and carry no obligation.
My business depends on a few salespeople and overseas agents. Can I still sell?
Usually yes, but it shapes the structure more than the headline. In asset-light forwarding, much of the value sits in who owns the customer relationship and whether the agent network keeps sending you work. Buyers manage that risk through retention terms for key staff, transition periods and sometimes deferred or earn-out payments. The way to protect your price is to make the dependency visible early, with a plan, rather than let a buyer find it in due diligence and reprice.
