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Merlin Entertainments, backed by the private equity Blackstone Group, has acquired the Tussauds Group, in the process creating one of the world’s biggest visitor attractions operators, second only to Disney.
The deal, announced March 5, sees Merlin pay Dubai International Capital (DIC) £1.028 billion ($2bn/€1.5bn) cash for the worldwide Madame Tussauds business and European attractions Alton Towers (pictured), Thorpe Park, Heide Park, Chessington World of Adventures, Warwick Castle and the London Eye.
They will sit alongside a portfolio of attractions from Merlin including its Sea Life, Dungeons and Earth Explorer brands and newer acquisitions like Legoland and Gardaland.
Retaining a 20% stake in the combined company, DIC will invest alongside majority owner Blackstone and LEGO Holding/KIRKBI Groups. Blackstone’s involvement marks the third successive private equity owner for the Tussauds Group, which before DIC was looked after by Charterhouse Development Capital from 1998 to 2004.
An expanded management team will include Merlin chief executive Nick Varney as CEO, Tussauds chief executive Peter Phillipson becoming non-executive chairman and Merlin’s Andrew Carr as chief financial officer, while Tussauds CFO Rob Roger will lead the integration project.
Commenting on the transaction, Nick Varney, a former marketing executive with Tussauds, said, “The combination of the Merlin and Tussauds brands, people and operating expertise will create an exciting and world-beating global entertainment company. With such iconic brands, the expanded Merlin will not only have strong development potential, but also an amazingly robust and high value portfolio. Our ambition is to build on this to become the world leader in location-based, branded family entertainment.”
Merlin Entertainments and the Tussauds Group combined welcomed over 30 million visitors to their 50 attractions and four hotels in 2006. Those outlets are located in 12 countries across three continents.
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