Second MarineMax shareholder urges sale of company

A major shareholder in Clearwater-born superyacht service company MarineMax is publicly supporting an activist investor’s bid to buy the company for $1.1 billion cash. 

Levin Capital Strategies, one of MarineMax’s 10 largest shareholders, released a public statement Tuesday calling for an “immediate review of strategic alternatives” for the company after its “prior failures to capitalize on credible acquisition offers.”

That credible offer came from Santa Monica, California-based Donerail Group earlier this month and was followed by a public letter to shareholders urging them to oust MarineMax’s current CEO, Brett McGill. The unsolicited, all-cash offer is for $35 a share — a 38% premium over the company’s 60-day volume-weighted average price of $24.45, Donerail Group says. 

“Levin Capital believes the board is obligated to rigorously explore all available paths to maximizing shareholder value, including engaging with The Donerail Group following its recent submission of an all-cash offer,” the statement says. 

The offer from Donerail Group is fully financed and “represents a viable path forward” for the boat and yacht retail giant, the statement says. Should MarineMax’s board of directors continue to delay its decision making process, Levin Capital Strategies warns that shareholders would be forced to hold directors accountable at future annual meetings. 

It’s not the first time New York-based Levin Capital has urged MarineMax’s board of directors to seize an opportunity to sell. Levin Capital, according to Reuters. made a similar call to action in December 2024, when MarineMax received a $2.5 billion, all-cash buyout offer from Georgia-based OneWater Marine after months of private discussions on the health of the company. That deal ultimately fell through. 

MarineMax has not issued a response to Levin Capital’s statement, but earlier this month said its board was “unanimous in its support for CEO Brett McGill” and disputed claims that company leaders have “not offered any productive engagement” with Donerail Group. Instead, MarineMax’s seven-member board has maintained “active and ongoing dialogue” with Donerail, including in-person meetings, a site visit to MarineMax’s Clearwater operations and a meeting with the independent board chairperson, Rebecca White, the company said in a public statement. 

Shareholders are scheduled to vote on Brett McGill’s role in the company at a meeting on March 3.