MYD Capital Partners advises mobility and logistics companies with €50M–€500M in annual revenue on selling, buying, raising capital, financing assets, forming partnerships and preparing for a transaction. Our work spans electric vehicles and battery technology, aviation, marine, logistics and freight forwarding, ports and warehousing.
This is a sector of two halves, and conflating them is the most common valuation error in it. Asset-heavy businesses — fleets, vessels, terminals, warehouses — are valued on the assets, their financing and the contracts attached to them. Asset-light businesses — forwarding, brokerage, network operators — are valued on customer relationships, density and margin per shipment. A group that contains both needs to be presented as both.
Where we focus
- Electric vehicles and battery technology. Vehicle, component and battery manufacturers, plus charging infrastructure, where technology position and offtake determine financeability.
- Aviation. Operators, maintenance and repair organizations, ground handling and aviation services, valued on certification scope, fleet structure and contract tenor.
- Marine and shipping. Vessel owners and operators, shipping services and marine logistics, where fleet age, charter coverage and financing structure drive value.
- Logistics and freight forwarding. Asset-light network businesses valued on customer relationships, route density, margin per shipment and customer retention.
- Ports and terminals. Terminal operators and port infrastructure, with concession terms and throughput commitments as the core of the value case.
- Warehousing and contract logistics. Storage and fulfilment operations, valued on contract tenor, automation position and facility quality.
- Cold chain. Temperature-controlled storage and transport, where compliance and equipment condition carry additional weight.
What buyers and investors look for
In asset-heavy businesses: fleet or asset register with age profile, condition and remaining useful life; the financing attached to each asset, including lease-versus-own treatment and residual value exposure; charter, lease or concession coverage with tenor and counterparty credit; and maintenance records complete enough for an acquirer to trust the asset condition without rediscovering it.
In asset-light businesses: customer contract tenor and concentration; route and lane density, which is what actually produces margin; gross margin per shipment rather than revenue growth; customer retention by cohort; and the degree to which customer relationships are institutional rather than individual.
Across both: regulatory and certification standing, which in aviation and marine is a gating item rather than a diligence line; and the treatment of subcontracted capacity, which is frequently where margin and risk both sit.
What lowers valuation
In asset-heavy businesses: fleet age profile requiring near-term replacement capital; residual value exposure concentrated in a single asset class; financing arranged asset by asset over years into a structure nobody has consolidated; and charter or lease coverage expiring inside the acquirer's investment horizon.
In asset-light businesses: customer concentration without contractual protection; spot-market exposure presented as though it were contracted; margin dependent on a rate environment rather than on operational density; and subcontractor relationships that are neither documented nor exclusive.
Across both: certification lapses in regulated activities; environmental compliance exposure, particularly in marine and heavy road transport where emissions regulation is tightening on a known timetable; and safety incident history that is discovered rather than disclosed.
Cross-border interest
Mobility and logistics attract strategic acquirers building network coverage, infrastructure funds seeking contracted asset exposure, and industrial acquirers seeking supply chain control. Interest in supply chain resilience has widened the counterparty pool for regional logistics and warehousing capability.
Cross-border processes carry distinctive gating items: cabotage and ownership restrictions in aviation and marine, flag and registry considerations, port concession transfer approvals, and foreign investment screening where port or terminal infrastructure is involved. These determine the counterparty universe and belong at the start of the process.
Preparing for a transaction
A structured readiness process, aligned with The Goldsmith™, typically covers:
- Asset register with age, condition, remaining useful life and replacement capital requirement
- Financing schedule by asset, with lease-versus-own treatment and residual value exposure
- Charter, lease or concession register with tenor, counterparty credit and renewal terms
- Maintenance records to the standard an acquirer's technical adviser will require
- Certification and operating licence register across every jurisdiction
- Customer contract register with tenor, concentration and change-of-control provisions
- Gross margin analysis per lane, route or shipment rather than at group level
- Customer retention by cohort, with institutional versus individual relationships identified
- Subcontractor arrangements documented, with dependency and margin exposure quantified
- Utilization and density metrics presented consistently across periods
- Environmental compliance position against current and announced regulation
- Safety record with incident history and remediation
- Technology and systems position, including automation and the capital it will require
Our Readiness Assessment benchmarks companies in this sector against these dimensions before a process begins.
How we work with mobility and logistics companies
Most engagements begin with The Goldsmith™. The most valuable early work here is usually structural: separating the asset-heavy and asset-light parts of the business so each is valued on the right basis, and consolidating an asset financing structure that has accumulated facility by facility.
The Confluence™ then maps and approaches the counterparty universe — strategic networks, infrastructure capital, industrial acquirers — with ownership and regulatory constraints applied from the start, and manages the process to signature, including project finance where new asset capacity is being funded. The Dawn™ is frequently relevant in this sector, because asset financing arranged over a decade rarely resembles a structure anyone would design today. Where the objective is network access, capacity or a joint operation, The Polarity™ structures it.
Frequently asked questions
Should we sell the fleet with the business?
It depends on who the acquirer is. Infrastructure capital wants the assets; a strategic network acquirer may want the customers and the operating capability and prefer to lease. Modeling both before outreach usually widens the counterparty universe rather than narrowing it.
Our margin improved with the rate environment. How is that treated?
It is normalized out. Acquirers separate rate-driven margin from density- and efficiency-driven margin, and only the second is valued as durable. Presenting that distinction yourself is considerably better than having it presented to you.
How much does fleet age matter?
It sets the replacement capital an acquirer must fund, which comes directly out of what they will pay. An honest age and condition profile with the capital requirement quantified is priced more favourably than an optimistic one that a technical adviser corrects.
Do emissions regulations affect valuation now or later?
Now. Regulation with a known future compliance date is priced into current valuations, because the capital required to comply is a cost the acquirer will carry. A documented compliance pathway is worth more than an undocumented intention.