By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Donerail Group has offered to buy MarineMax for $35 per share in an all-cash deal that would value the superyacht service company at just over $1 billion, three sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The offer comes several months after the investment group pressed MarineMax to make sweeping changes, ranging from selling itself to replacing its chief executive as the marinas business becomes a hot investment area.
Headquartered in Clearwater,
Florida, MarineMax caters to a wealthy clientele through its 65 marinas and storage locations and 70 dealerships, with megayachts listed for sale on its website in the millions of dollars.
A MarineMax representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
MarineMax hired Wells Fargo bankers earlier this year after receiving the offer while Donerail and its investment partners retained Jefferies to pursue the takeover, said the people, who asked not to be identified in order to discuss the private talks.
A Wells Fargo representative declined to comment and a Jefferies representative was not immediately available for comment.
Donerail, co-founded by Will Wyatt and Wes Calvert in 2018, owns nearly 5% of MarineMax and met with management several times in recent months to lay out concerns about how capital is allocated. It also criticized the company for what it said was a flawed strategy as well as its oversight of financial matters, Reuters previously reported.
MarineMax was trading around $26.09 earlier Monday, valuing the company at roughly $575 million.
While MarineMax has made some changes and replaced several directors, including removing the chief financial officer from the board last year, the moves failed to satisfy Donerail.
OTHER PARTIES INTERESTED
Donerail isn't the only party expressing interest in MarineMax, the sources said, noting that others have signaled possibly wanting to buy a portion of the company - namely its marina business.
Industry analysts previously said there may be considerable interest for all of MarineMax or pieces of it, especially now that interest rates have dropped and consumer demand for boats appears to be rising.
MarineMax's stock price has climbed 8% this year, getting a boost when the company reported last month that same-store sales rose 10% in its fiscal 2026 first quarter.
But the stock price is down 12% in the last 12 months and has lagged even more over the last five years, dropping 37% while the broader S&P 500 index has risen 82%.
Donerail's offer is coming to light just before the Miami International Boat Show, the world's largest, kicks off next week and also before MarineMax's annual meeting, currently scheduled for March 3.
At the meeting, investors will decide who sits on the company's board, with three of the company's seven board members, including CEO Brett McGill, standing for election.
McGill, son of MarineMax founder Bill McGill, took the reins in 2018 and has sought to pivot the company from a leading retailer to an integrated marine business by buying Island Global Yachting in 2022.
The acquisition of IGY, which owns luxury marinas in the U.S., Europe, the Caribbean and Latin America, left the company with more debt, and industry analysts said the integration has not been smooth.
In 2024, for instance, the Mexican Navy took control of the Marina Cabo San Lucas from IGY after the company failed to effectively renew its lease with the government.
Ultra-wealthy yacht owners have only a few locations to dock their vessels, which provides a steady stream of income for these types of marina owners. Alternative asset manager Blackstone bought marina and superyacht-servicing business Safe Harbor last year for $5.7 billion.
(Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Mark Porter)
