Merlin Entertainments Limited is a British
entertainment
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousa ...
company based at
Poole
Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
in
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...
, England. It was listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
until November 2019, when it was acquired by a
consortium
A consortium (plural: consortia) 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 ...
that includes Kirkbi A/S (the investment arm of the Christiansen family, which controls
The Lego Group
Lego A/S (trade name: The Lego Group) is a Danish toy production company based in Billund, Denmark. It manufactures Lego-brand toys, consisting mostly of interlocking plastic bricks. The Lego Group has also built several amusement parks aroun ...
).
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 buyout became noted phenomena of 1 ...
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 December 2017, the firm, including its ...
. 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. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...
, which later started a major expansion. Over the years, Merlin acquired
Gardaland
Gardaland Resort is an amusement park located in northeastern Italy. Opened on 19 July 1975, the resort includes Gardaland Park, Gardaland Sea-Life, Legoland Waterpark, Gardaland Hotel, Adventure Hotel and Magic Hotel. It is adjacent to Lake Ga ...
, an Italian theme park, and
The Tussauds Group
The Tussauds Group was an entertainment company which is now a part of Merlin Entertainments. It was based in Poole, Dorset from where it managed a portfolio of brands and over 50 attractions that included the Madame Tussauds waxworks, Legoland T ...
. The company was first listed on the
London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange (LSE) is a stock exchange in the City of London, England, United Kingdom. , the total market value of all companies trading on LSE was £3.9 trillion. Its current premises are situated in Paternoster Square close to St Pau ...
in 2013.
Legoland
When the
Legoland
Legoland (, trademark in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family theme parks focusing on the construction toy system Lego. They are not fully owned by The Lego Group itself; rather, they are owned and operated by the British theme park com ...
theme park was up for sale, Varney wanted to buy it, but Hermes did not want to tie up more capital. After the sale of Merlin to Blackstone Group, the company negotiated to buy control of Legoland 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.
Tussauds
In May 2007, Blackstone purchased
The Tussauds Group
The Tussauds Group was an entertainment company which is now a part of Merlin Entertainments. It was based in Poole, Dorset from where it managed a portfolio of brands and over 50 attractions that included the Madame Tussauds waxworks, Legoland T ...
, owner of the
Madame Tussauds
Madame Tussauds (, ) is a wax museum founded in 1835 by French wax sculptor Marie Tussaud in London, spawning similar museums in major cities around the world. While it used to be spelled as "Madame Tussaud's"; the apostrophe is no longer us ...
wax museums, for US$1.9 billion. This company was merged with Merlin and has since been managed by Merlin.
After the Tussauds acquisition,
Dubai International Capital
Dubai International Capital (DIC) is the international investment arm of Dubai Holding, a global conglomerate and sovereign wealth fund of the government of Dubai and its ruling family. DIC invests private funds on behalf of Dubai Holding and se ...
, 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 referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water park, ...
,
Thorpe Park
Thorpe Park Resort, commonly known as Thorpe Park, is an amusement park located in the village of Thorpe between the towns of Chertsey and Staines-upon-Thames in Surrey, England, southwest of Central London. It is operated by Merlin Entertai ...
,
Warwick Castle
Warwick Castle is a medieval castle developed from a wooden fort, originally built by William the Conqueror during 1068. Warwick is the county town of Warwickshire, England, situated on a meander of the River Avon. The original wooden motte-an ...
and Madame Tussauds were sold to private investor
Nick Leslau
Nick Leslau, born , is an English commercial property investor, with an estimated fortune in the ''Sunday Times'' Rich List of £200 million. Leslau is Chairman and Chief Executive of Prestbury Investment Holdings Limited, and Chairman of ...
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.
Florida
On 15 January 2010, Merlin Entertainments bought
Cypress Gardens
Cypress Gardens was a botanical garden and theme park near Winter Haven, Florida that operated from 1936 to 2009. As of 2011, the botanical garden portion had been preserved inside the newly formed Legoland Florida.
History
Billed as Florida' ...
, a defunct theme park in
Winter Haven, Florida
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. It is fifty-one miles east of Tampa. The population was 49,219 at the 2020 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2019 estimates, this city had a population of 44,955, making i ...
. It was reopened as
Legoland
Legoland (, trademark in uppercase as LEGOLAND) is a chain of family theme parks focusing on the construction toy system Lego. They are not fully owned by The Lego Group itself; rather, they are owned and operated by the British theme park com ...
Florida theme park.
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.
Australia and New Zealand
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 and Attractions
Village Roadshow Theme Parks is a division of Village Roadshow Limited which operates theme parks and attractions in Australia and the United States of America. The Sydney Attractions Group Pty Ltd was formerly part of Village Roadshow Theme ...
. The sale would include
Sydney Aquarium
SEA LIFE Sydney Aquarium (formerly Sydney Aquarium) is a public aquarium
A public aquarium (plural: ''public aquaria'' or ''public Water Zoo'') is the aquatic counterpart of a zoo, which houses living aquatic animal and plant specimens fo ...
,
Sydney Wildlife World
Wild Life Sydney Zoo (formerly Sydney Wildlife World) is a wildlife park in the Darling Harbour precinct, on the western edge of the Sydney central business district, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Opened in September 2006, the zoo is loc ...
,
Oceanworld Manly
Manly Sea Life Sanctuary (formerly ''Oceanworld Manly'') was a public aquarium located in Manly, New South Wales, Manly, Sydney, Australia. It featured sharks, giant stingrays, sea turtles, little penguins and other marine life. It also allowed ...
,
Sydney Tower
Sydney Tower is the tallest structure in Sydney, Australia, and the second-tallest observation tower in the Southern Hemisphere. It has also been known as ''Centrepoint Tower'', ''AMP Tower'', and colloquially as'' Flower Tower'', ''Glower To ...
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,
Melbourne Aquarium
Sea Life Melbourne Aquarium is a Southern Ocean and Antarctic aquarium in central Melbourne, Australia. It is located on the banks of the Yarra River beside and under the Flinders Street Viaduct and the King Street Bridge. The attraction is a S ...
,
Falls Creek Alpine Resort,
Hotham Alpine Resort
Mount Hotham Alpine Resort is an Skiing in Australia, Australian alpine resort, is located in the Victorian Alps, Alpine region of Victoria (Australia), Victoria. Set on the slopes of Mount Hotham, the ski resort comprises an alpine village, ...
,
Otway Fly,
Illawarra Fly
The Southern Highlands, also locally referred to as the Highlands, is a geographical region and district in New South Wales, Australia and is 110 km south-west of Sydney. The entire region is under the Local Government Area, local governme ...
,
Busan Aquarium
Sea Life Busan Aquarium is an aquarium located in Haeundae Beach, South Korea.
Description
There are about 250 species and up to 35,000 marine animals on display. The main tank contains of water, and the animals can be viewed through acrylic win ...
and
Siam Ocean World
Sea Life Bangkok Ocean World (formerly, Siam Ocean World) is an aquarium in Bangkok, Thailand and is the largest in South East Asia. It covers approximately with hundreds of different species on display in exhibits totaling about .
The Sea Lif ...
.
On 28 June 2013, Merlin Australia's Madame Tussauds in Sydney placed a wax figure of the former
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
,
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
, into a mock queue of the unemployed at a
Centrelink
The Centrelink Master Program, or more commonly known as Centrelink, is a Services Australia master program of the Australian Government. It delivers a range of government payments and services for retirees, the unemployed, families, carer ...
office in central Sydney. Deposed by the
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...
in the evening of 26 June, and replaced by
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
, the publicity stunt drew wide attention and international criticism for the blatant disrespect it cast on, specifically, the first female prime minister of Australia.
Listing
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 is a Luxembourg-based French private equity and investment advisory firm with approximately US$133 billion of assets under management and approximately €157 billion in secured commitments since inception across American, E ...
, 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 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; french: Office d'investissement du régime de pensions du Canada), operating as CPP Investments (french: Investissements RPC), is a Canadian Crown corporation established by way of the 1997 ''Cana ...
and
The Blackstone Group
Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. Blackstone's private equity business has been one of the largest investors in leveraged buyouts in the last three decades, while its real estate bu ...
. The takeover was approved by the high court in November 2019.
eOne's multi-territory partnership with Merlin
On 5 December 2019,
Entertainment One
Entertainment One Ltd., trading as eOne, is an American-owned Canadian multinational entertainment company. Based in Toronto, Ontario, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition, distribution, and production of films and television se ...
announced a new multi-territory partnership with Merlin that would open an interactive ''
PJ Masks
''PJ Masks'' (French: Pyjamasques) is a computer-animated superhero children's television series based on the '' Les Pyjamasques'' book series by Romuald Racioppo. Produced by Frog Box, Entertainment One UK Limited, Walt Disney EMEA Production ...
'' nautical-themed trail throughout the company's
Sea Life
Sea Life is a chain of commercial sea life-themed aquarium attractions. there are 53 Sea Life attractions (including standalone Sea Life centres, mini Sea Life features within resort theme parks, and Legoland submarine rides) around the world ...
aquariums worldwide starting in February 2020.
Further tying into the collaboration between Merlin and eOne, select episodes of ''PJ Masks'' season 4 will feature underwater adventures.
[
]
Properties
Resort theme parks
LEGOLAND parks
Midway attractions
Future locations
Former locations
Bus operation
In February 2016, Merlin purchased a 15% shareholding in Big Bus Tours
Big Bus Tours (formerly ''Les Cars Rouges'' and ''The Big Bus Company''), is the largest operator of open top bus sightseeing tours founded in May 2011 after "Les Cars Rouges" and the "Big Bus Company" merged. The company operates in 23 citie ...
.
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
The Blackstone Group 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