Selling a Forestry & Logging Business

Most Forestry & Logging companies sell on a multiple of SDE or EBITDA, and that multiple usually follows risk in the woods. Buyers pay more when you can show steady wood supply, more than one mill outlet, manageable quotas, and a realistic capex plan for high-hour iron. Proof matters here: mill statements and scale tickets that tie to the P&L, plus maintenance records, tend to move a buyer from “maybe” to a real offer. Use Rejigg’s free valuation calculator to get a starting range, then adjust for your supply mix and equipment outlook.

Often, yes, but SBA lenders usually dig deeper in Forestry & Logging because the business is equipment-heavy and cash can swing with weather, breakdowns, and mill pay cycles. Expect requests for three years of tax returns, interim financials, AR/AP aging, a debt schedule, an equipment list with liens, insurance loss runs, and revenue proof through mill statements and scale tickets. Most of the time, the buyer also needs extra working capital to cover fuel, payroll, and repairs during slow or wet periods. Rejigg includes an SBA loan calculator and a data room to keep lender requests organized.

No. A broker can help, but many prepared logging owners choose to run the process themselves, especially if they already have clean books, an equipment schedule, and ticket support. Commissions are often 5–10%, and buyers still ask you for the same tract, mill, and crew details either way. Rejigg gives you access to pre-vetted buyers, digital NDAs, direct messaging, and a secure data room for financials, equipment records, and mill statements. If you want to run a tighter process, start with the preparation guide and build your story around wood flow and uptime.

A prepared deal often takes 3–8 months from listing to close, but it depends on how quickly a buyer can verify wood supply, mill outlets, and equipment condition. Many buyers prefer diligence during active production months so they can watch loads move, see how the crew runs, and confirm downtime patterns. Timing can also stretch if there is a lease assignment to negotiate or if SBA financing is involved. Rejigg’s deal tracking keeps offers, diligence requests, and deadlines in one place so you do not lose momentum during your busiest season.

Buyers usually want standard financial documents plus logging-specific proof. Common requests include three years of financials and tax returns, YTD statements, AR/AP aging, a debt schedule, and payroll reports. Logging-specific items often include mill statements and scale tickets, product and species mix by mill, an equipment schedule with hours and rebuild history, maintenance logs, insurance loss runs (especially workers’ comp and auto), DOT files if you run trucks, BMP checklists and certifications, and yard or shop deeds or assignable lease terms. Rejigg’s due diligence checklist helps you package this cleanly.

Buyers mainly want a clear list of what iron transfers and how it is financed: feller, skidder, loader, processor, trailers, service truck, tools, and parts inventory. Equipment can transfer through an asset sale or through an equity sale with existing debt, and either way, the buyer will price in near-term capex based on hours, undercarriage condition, and rebuild history. If you plan to keep certain pieces, say it early and show how production is still covered. Rejigg’s data room is set up for equipment schedules, titles, and lien documentation.

Working capital can swing hard in logging because payroll and fuel keep coming even when loads slow, mills pay on set cycles, and repairs tend to bunch up at the worst times. Many deals set a “normal working capital” target so the buyer has enough cash on day one, and so you are not accidentally leaving a pile of AR behind. Define “normal” using month-by-month history: AR days, typical cash buffer, fuel and stumpage timing, and any seasonal shutdown patterns. Rejigg helps you share AR/AP aging and cash timing cleanly and compare offers that treat working capital differently.

An earnout pays you additional money after closing if the business hits agreed targets, such as tons delivered, EBITDA, or revenue. In logging, earnouts show up when a buyer is unsure how well tract pipeline, mill quotas, or crew retention will carry over. If you consider one, define the metrics tightly and in plain terms. Spell out what counts as revenue, how deductions are handled, what happens during weather downtime, and who controls bidding and dispatch decisions. Rejigg’s offer comparison view makes earnout terms easy to compare against cash-at-close offers.

Most buyers want a hands-on transition that matches how logging actually runs. That often means introductions to mills, foresters, dealers, and key landowners, plus ride-alongs on active tracts and a few weeks of morning dispatch. A common pattern is 4–12 weeks of active involvement, then on-call help through a season change if weather or quota shifts are a real risk in your area. Put the schedule in writing, including hours, responsibilities, and what happens if the buyer asks for more. Rejigg’s transition planning guide helps you plan it.

Taxes depend on the deal structure and on how the purchase price gets allocated across equipment, goodwill, and any real estate. Logging companies often have heavily depreciated equipment, so depreciation recapture can take a bigger bite than owners expect. The allocation you agree to can change your after-tax proceeds even if the headline price looks great. It is worth running scenarios with a CPA or an M&A tax advisor before you sign an LOI, especially if you own the yard, shop, or a big portion of the fleet outright. Rejigg’s deal tools help you keep offers and allocations organized for quick review.

Most buyers will ask for a non-compete and non-solicit to protect the tract pipeline, mill relationships, and key crew members they are buying. In logging, scope should fit the real operating area, usually tied to your haul radius and procurement footprint, and the restricted activities should match what you actually do (harvesting, hauling, procurement, or brokering). Terms that are too broad can create avoidable friction, and terms that are too narrow can reduce buyer confidence and price. Rejigg’s negotiation guide helps you pressure-test non-compete language alongside other deal points.

If the yard and shop are core to uptime, dispatch, fuel storage, and security, selling the property or offering a long-term, assignable lease often makes buyers more comfortable. If the site is convenient but not critical, keeping the real estate can work, but buyers may discount the deal if relocation would disrupt the crew or increase downtime. The deciding factor is transferability. Clear deeds, clean lease assignment language, and documented site restrictions reduce surprises. Rejigg’s data room lets you share leases, maps, and photos under NDA so buyers do not fill gaps with guesses.

In Forestry & Logging, scale tickets and mill statements are the fastest way to prove volume and realized pricing. Buyers use them to confirm tons by product and species, check deductions, and match pay timing to what shows up in the books. They also use ticket history to understand quota exposure and mill concentration, because a P&L alone will not show where the wood actually went. If you provide a representative set early, diligence usually moves faster, and price retrades are less common. Rejigg’s data room is built for secure, organized sharing of ticket and statement files.

Claims do not automatically kill a deal, but buyers will want context and proof of what changed. They look at severity, frequency, and whether premiums and EMR are likely to improve or stay elevated. Prepare a short write-up for each major claim: what happened, root cause, corrective action, and documentation like training sign-ins or updated procedures. It is also worth asking whether any mills or timber companies tightened requirements afterward, because that can affect future revenue. Rejigg’s NDA gating helps you share loss runs only with qualified buyers.

Confidentiality matters in logging because rumors can spook operators, mills, and landowners. Use staged disclosure. Share a high-level teaser first, require an NDA before sharing your name and exact location, and hold back mill names, tract details, and key employee identities until the buyer is qualified and engaged. In some markets, even a yard photo can give you away, so control what goes into the early package. Rejigg pre-vets buyers, uses digital NDAs, and lets you control document permissions in the data room so you can run a process without broadcasting it locally.

Seller financing is common in logging because it can bridge valuation gaps and help a buyer get a bank deal across the finish line. Terms should match the risks. Make sure collateral is documented, often with UCC filings on equipment, and require insurance coverage and maintenance standards so the fleet does not get run into the ground. It is also worth verifying the buyer has enough working capital for fuel, payroll, and wet-weather downtime, because a seller note will not fix a cash-short operation. Rejigg’s offer tools help you compare seller-financed terms against SBA or cash offers in a consistent format.

Write the listing like an operator would explain it to another operator. Include your wood supply model (stumpage, contract, gatewood mix), typical tons per week, crew size and roles, primary mills and product mix, average haul distance, and your critical equipment chain with hours and rebuild notes. Call out constraints buyers will find anyway, such as quotas, seasonal access issues, or a major component due, and show how you handle them. Rejigg helps you build a listing with these specifics and manage buyer Q&As in one place. Start with the finding buyers guide.

Late-stage deals usually fall apart when a buyer finds an operational surprise. Common ones are wood supply that depends on the owner personally, a foreman or mechanic who plans to leave, a near-term wall of equipment replacements, a yard or shop lease that cannot be assigned, or an insurance history that triggers a sharp renewal increase. Any of these can be workable if priced and planned for. The bigger problem is finding out too late, after the buyer has already built a model and lined up financing. Rejigg’s guided process and data room push early disclosure and proof, including tickets, maintenance records, leases, and loss runs.