Legoland owner Merlin announces share price for London listing

Merlin entertainments has announced it will be offering its shares between 280 and 330 pence in a float that will see between 20 and 30 per cent the company sold off. The company may be valued at as much as £3.3bn. Merlin Entertainments is the world’s second largest theme park operator with more than 70 attractions including Legoland, Alton Towers and Thorpepark.

The sale is expected to raise £200m which will be used to pay off debt. The sale is expected be completed on November 12. Speaking on 21 October, Nick Varney, CEO of Merlin, said:

The IPO will provide Merlin with the platform for our next stage of development and allow us to plan for the longer term. As such we are very excited about this next chapter of our story, and look forward to creating value for our shareholders and more magic for our customers.

Merlin continues to experience strong growth and has managed to to attract 54m visitors worldwide and generated over £1bn in revenue in 2013. The minimum application size for the intermediaries offer will be £1000. As an extra incentive Merlin is offering a 30 per cent discount on two adult Merlin annual passes or one family annual pass to shareholders.

The company has enjoyed success since its formation in 1999. Operating in 22 countries strong brands have helped the company grow and reach customer satisfaction levels of 90 per cent. Merlin recently launched ventures in California and Malaysia and is considering expanding its Legoland venues to Japan, China and South Korea.