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Merlin Entertainments Limited is a global
entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and Interest (emotion), interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but it is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have deve ...
company based in
London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England, which operates a number of
theme park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...
resorts A resort (North American English) is a self-contained commercial establishment that aims to provide most of a vacationer's needs. This includes food, drink, swimming, accommodation, sports, entertainment and shopping, on the premises. A hotel ...
and other visitor attractions. It was listed on the
London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
until November 2019, when it was acquired by a
consortium A consortium () is an association of two or more individuals, companies, organizations, or governments (or any combination of these entities) with the objective of participating in a common activity or pooling their resources for achieving a ...
that includes Kirkbi A/S (the investment arm of the Kristiansen family, which controls
the Lego Group Lego A/S, also known as the Lego Group, is a Danish construction toy production company based in Billund. It manufactures Lego-branded toys, consisting mostly of interlocking ABS plastic and rubber bricks. The Lego Group has also built severa ...
).


History

In December 1998, Nick Varney, Andrew Carr and the senior management team of Vardon Attractions (Vardon plc) completed a
management buyout A management buyout (MBO) is a form of acquisition in which a company's existing managers acquire a large part, or all, of the company, whether from a parent company or individual. Management- and/or leveraged buyouts became noted phenomena of 19 ...
of the company to form Merlin Entertainments Group Ltd., with the backing of the private equity firm
Apax Partners Apax Partners LLP is a British private equity firm, headquartered in London, England. The company also operates out of six other offices in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai, Tel Aviv, Munich and Shanghai. As of March 2024, the firm had raised and adv ...
. Apax sold the company in 2004 to another financial investor, Hermes Private Equity. In May 2005, the company was acquired from Hermes by a division of
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...
, which later started a major expansion. Between 2005-2010, Merlin acquired the Legoland parks, Gardaland, The Tussauds Group, Cypress Gardens, and various attractions from Village Roadshow Theme Parks and Living and Leisure Australia. The company was first listed on the
London Stock Exchange The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange based in London, England. the total market value of all companies trading on the LSE stood at US$3.42 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Paul's Cath ...
in 2013 but returned to private ownership in 2019.


Major Acquisitions (2005-2012)

After the sale of Merlin to Blackstone Group, the company negotiated to buy control of the Legoland theme parks in 2005 for about £250 million, then merged it with Merlin. As part of the deal, Kirkbi A/S, the investment arm of LEGO's owners, took a share in Merlin Entertainments. In 2006, Merlin acquired Gardaland theme park resort in northeastern
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
. In May 2007, Blackstone purchased The Tussauds Group, owner of the Madame Tussauds wax museums, for US$1.9 billion, to merge the company with Merlin. After the Tussauds acquisition, Dubai International Capital, the previous owner, received a 20% stake in the combined entity as well as £1.03bn in cash. On 17 July 2007, as part of the financing for the Tussauds deal, the freeholds of
Alton Towers Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often shortened to Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton, Staffordshire, Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments, Merlin Entertainments Group a ...
, Thorpe Park,
Warwick Castle Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William I of England, William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon, Warwic ...
and Madame Tussauds were sold to private investor Nick Leslau and his investment firm Prestbury, with a subsequent leaseback agreement. Although the attraction sites are owned by Leslau, they are operated by Merlin based on a renewable 35-year lease. On 15 January 2010, Merlin Entertainments bought Cypress Gardens, a defunct theme park in
Winter Haven, Florida Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is located about east of Tampa, Florida, Tampa and about southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, with neighboring Lakeland, Florida, Lakeland located to its west. The city's popul ...
. It was reopened as
Legoland Legoland (, trademarked in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family amusement parks focusing on the Lego building toy brand. They are owned and operated by the British theme park company Merlin Entertainments, which shares a common owner ...
Florida theme park. In late 2010, it was announced that Merlin would purchase approximately A$116 million worth of entertainment attractions located in Australia and New Zealand from Village Roadshow Theme Parks. The sale would include Sydney Aquarium, Sydney Wildlife World, Oceanworld Manly, Sydney Tower and the Koala Gallery in Australia, in addition to Kelly Tarlton's Underwater World in New Zealand. On 3 March 2011, the deal was finalised. This was followed by the $140 million acquisition of Living and Leisure Australia which owned several attractions in the Asia-Pacific region including
UnderWater World Underwater World may refer to: *Underwater World, Singapore, oceanarium in Singapore *UnderWater World, Queensland, marine mammal park, oceanarium and wildlife sanctuary in Queensland, Australia *UnderWater World Guam, oceanarium in Guam *Kelly Tarl ...
, Melbourne Aquarium, Falls Creek Alpine Resort, Hotham Alpine Resort, Otway Fly, Illawarra Fly, Busan Aquarium and Siam Ocean World.


Public Listing (2013-2019)

Merlin had planned to go public in the early 2000s, but market turbulence postponed those plans. Instead, Blackstone sold 20% of the company to the private equity firm
CVC Capital Partners CVC Capital Partners plc is a Jersey-based private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately €186 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, European, ...
, reducing Blackstone's holding to 34%. CVC acquired another 8% from the Dubai investment fund which is no longer involved with the company, giving it 28% in all. Kirkbi, a Danish family trust that owns LEGO, also increased its stake, emerging as the largest shareholder, with 36%. CVC paid a price that valued Merlin at £2.25 billion – more than six times what Merlin and Legoland together were worth when Blackstone acquired them five years earlier. Blackstone's investment was by that point worth more than three and a half times what it had paid. On 8 November 2013, Merlin floated 30% of the company on the London Stock Exchange, valuing the private equity-backed company at almost £3.4bn. In 2015, the company opened the Orlando Eye Ferris wheel attraction in Orlando. It then sold the wheel in 2018 but repurchased it in 2024. Reports in early October 2017 indicated that Merlin Entertainments was considering a takeover of Sea World in Orlando, but on 11 October, the company said it was no longer involved in such discussions.


Return to Private Ownership (2019–present)

In June 2019, the company's board agreed to recommend a takeover offer of £4.8 billion from a consortium consisting of Kirkbi A/S,
CPP Investment Board The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB; ), operating as CPP Investments (), is a Canadian Crown corporation established by way of the 1997 ''Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Act'' to oversee and invest the funds contributed to and h ...
and
The Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter G. Peterson, Peter Peterson and Stephen A. Schwarzman, Stephen Schwarzman, who h ...
. The takeover was approved by the high court in November 2019. Merlin opened its first
Peppa Pig ''Peppa Pig'' is a British preschool animated television series created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker. Produced by Hasbro Entertainment and Karrot Animation and formerly produced by Astley Baker Davies, the show follows Peppa, an anthro ...
Theme Park in Winter Haven, Florida in 2022, with future sites planned for Texas and
Günzburg Günzburg (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Genzburg'') is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' and the capital of the Swabian Günzburg (district), district Günzburg. This district was constituted in 1972 by combining the city ...
, Germany. Nick Varney left the company at the end of 2022, along with longtime Chief Development Officer, Mark Fisher. Varney was replaced by Scott O'Neil, who arrived from a media and sports management background. By the end of 2024, both Little Big City sites in Berlin and Beijing and the Bear Grylls Adventure in Birmingham, UK were closed. O'Neil left the company at the end of 2024, with Chief Operating Officer, Fiona Eastwood, taking over as CEO. At the same time, the company began a group-wide restructuring to merge its Resort Theme Parks, Legoland Parks and Gateway Attractions divisions on a regional basis, which Merlin stated would bring them into "one united business" going forwards. In February 2025, it was revealed that Merlin were considering selling many of its Sea Life Centres.


Properties


Resort theme parks


LEGOLAND parks


Peppa Pig parks


Gateway attractions


Future locations


Former locations


Cancelled locations


References


External links

* {{Authority control Entertainment companies established in 1998 British companies established in 1998 Leisure companies of the United Kingdom Companies based in Poole Private equity portfolio companies Amusement park companies Blackstone Inc. companies CVC Capital Partners companies Companies formerly listed on the London Stock Exchange 2005 mergers and acquisitions 2013 initial public offerings 2019 mergers and acquisitions