Northwind Logistics, LLC
Specialty freight brokerage · Ohio · Prepared March 2025
Where the business stands today
Northwind operates a profitable specialty freight brokerage with steady single-digit revenue growth and above-average gross margins for the sector. Cash conversion is strong and the customer book is diversified across 140+ accounts. However, the business carries three meaningful diligence risks — heavy owner involvement in sales, undocumented operational SOPs, and a single-vendor dependency for line-haul capacity — that will compress the multiple a sophisticated buyer is willing to pay.
Defensible market range
Range derived from 47 comparable specialty-freight transactions ($3M–$15M revenue, 2022–2024) adjusted for owner add-backs, recurring revenue ratio, and concentration risk.
How attractive is this business to a buyer?
What's compressing your multiple
Owner is the head of sales
−0.8× multiple63% of new accounts in the trailing 24 months were sourced personally by the owner. Buyers will discount this as transition risk and require a multi-year earn-out.
Undocumented operational SOPs
−0.4× multipleDispatch playbooks, carrier vetting, and exception handling live in tribal knowledge. Strategic buyers reading the data room will flag this as integration friction.
Single line-haul carrier (38% of capacity)
−0.3× multipleVendor concentration creates a real continuity risk. A second qualified carrier under contract would materially de-risk the business.