Warehouse & Transportation Logistics Company, Asset-Lite 3PL, Multi-Coast (NJ HQ)

$50.0M

Revenue

$11.0M

SDE

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Full Editorial Writeup

This is an asset-lite third-party logistics operation running warehousing and transportation across three key US corridors: Miami, the NY/NJ metro, and the West Coast. The business controls roughly 1.5 million square feet of leased warehouse space and moves freight for a recurring customer base that the seller says was built over years of reliable service. At $50M in revenue against $11M of EBITDA, the operation is running a 22% EBITDA margin, which is exceptional for logistics and suggests either genuine pricing power, tight cost discipline, or a favorable customer mix worth understanding in detail.

The asset-lite framing matters here. Real estate is leased and the listing signals no owned fleet or heavy capital base, which means the earnings are a function of contracts, operations, and customer relationships rather than depreciating steel. That is the version of a 3PL a buyer wants: high cash conversion, low reinvestment drag, and the ability to scale into new markets by signing leases and winning accounts rather than sinking millions into terminals and trucks.

What makes this notable is the combination of scale and margin in a fragmented industry. Most logistics deals at this revenue level are low-margin, thin-cash, capital-heavy operations. An $11M EBITDA, multi-region, asset-lite platform with recurring accounts is a legitimate lower-middle-market acquisition target, and the seller's willingness to do a clean 100% exit or a majority sale opens the door to both strategic buyers and PE-backed roll-ups.

Why we like it

Earnings quality is the headline: $11M EBITDA on $50M revenue is a 22% margin, roughly double what a typical asset-heavy trucking or warehousing operation prints. If that margin survives diligence and is not propped up by owner add-backs or a single fat customer, this is a genuinely high-quality logistics cash flow.
The asset-lite structure protects the downside. Leased real estate and no heavy fleet on the books means low capex, high free cash conversion, and no exposure to a used-truck market crash or a balance sheet stuffed with depreciating equipment. You are buying contracts and operating capability, not a fleet you have to keep refinancing.
Logistics and warehousing is durable, essential infrastructure. Goods still need to be stored and moved in a downturn, and a recurring customer base built over years gives revenue visibility that project-based businesses lack. This is the boring, non-discretionary cash flow that compounds quietly.
The three-corridor footprint (Miami, NY/NJ, West Coast) is strategically valuable. Coverage across major import gateways and population centers makes this an attractive bolt-on for a strategic acquirer or a platform seeking national reach, which supports both operating leverage and a stronger exit multiple later.

How to improve it

Attack the stated margin opportunities immediately. The listing itself flags low-hanging efficiency and margin improvements, so in the first 90 days benchmark labor cost per unit shipped, warehouse utilization across the 1.5M square feet, and carrier/lane profitability to find the quickest dollars.
Formalize and lengthen customer contracts. If the recurring base is running on handshake relationships or month-to-month terms, converting top accounts to multi-year agreements with annual escalators de-risks the revenue and directly raises the exit multiple a future buyer will pay.
Build a repeatable sales and account-management engine. Owner-operated logistics businesses usually grow on the founder's relationships; installing a dedicated commercial team and a CRM-driven pipeline turns the growth runway the seller describes into something that survives the owner's departure.
Optimize the real estate footprint. With 1.5M square feet leased, audit occupancy cost per square foot, lease renewal dates, and whether any locations are underutilized. Renegotiating leases or subletting slack space can add meaningful EBITDA without touching revenue.
Layer in value-added warehousing services. Kitting, light assembly, returns processing, and fulfillment carry higher margins than pure storage and freight. Cross-selling these to the existing recurring base increases revenue per customer and deepens switching costs.
Standardize technology and reporting across the three regions. A single WMS/TMS and unified P&L by site removes the blind spots typical of multi-location owner-run operations, and clean data both improves operating decisions and shortens the next diligence cycle.
Pursue tuck-in acquisitions in the same corridors. With an asset-lite platform and $11M of EBITDA, you can acquire smaller regional 3PLs at lower multiples and fold them onto your infrastructure, capturing multiple arbitrage and route density.

Diligence notes

Verify the 22% EBITDA margin and reconcile EBITDA to bank statements and tax returns. A margin this high in logistics is unusual, so confirm it is not inflated by aggressive add-backs, uncapitalized leases, or one-time contract windfalls before underwriting any purchase price.
Analyze customer concentration in depth. Request a revenue-by-customer breakdown for the last three years; if the top one or two accounts drive a large share of the $50M, the recurring-base narrative weakens and the risk profile changes materially.
Scrutinize the lease portfolio behind 1.5M square feet. Pull every lease for term, renewal options, escalation clauses, and remaining duration. In an asset-lite model the leases ARE the balance sheet, and a wave of near-term renewals at higher market rates could quietly erode the margin.
Assess owner dependency and management depth. The business is explicitly owner-operated, so map which customer relationships, carrier deals, and operational decisions run through the seller and build a concrete plan to replace that before the transition period ends.
Confirm the true asset base and any hidden capital needs. Validate that there is genuinely no owned fleet or major equipment, and check whether deferred maintenance, technology debt, or under-investment is masking future capex that would compress the reported cash flow.

Source

Originally listed on BizBuySell. View original listing →