Does selling my business as a share sale avoid needing licence transfers at all?

Often, yes — in a share sale, the corporation that holds the business's licences doesn't change, so there's typically no licence "transfer" needed at all, unlike an asset sale, where a different legal entity is taking over and generally needs its own licences in its own name. This is one of the practical advantages that can make a share sale attractive where licensing is complicated or a licence isn't easily transferable.

The catch is that some licensing regimes still require notice of a change in ownership or control of the licensed corporation, even though the corporate entity itself hasn't changed — meaning a share sale can still trigger a filing or disclosure obligation, just a lighter one than a full re-application. A few licensing bodies go further and treat a change of control the same as a transfer for their own purposes, regardless of how the corporate structure looks on paper.

Because this varies by licence and regulator, don't assume a share sale sidesteps every licensing requirement without checking the specific licences your business holds. A Treadstone business lawyer can confirm what, if anything, still needs to be reported.