Magical price expected for Merlin’s flotation

THE company behind attractions including the London Eye, Madame Tussauds and Alton Towers will be valued at between £2.8bn and £3.3bn when it joins the stock market next month.

Merlin Entertainments, which operates 99 attractions in 22 countries and had 54 million visitors in 2012, disclosed more details of the float, which will see up to 15 per cent of shares on offer go to retail investors.

Merlin said it comes to market with a consistent record of strong growth in both revenues and profits.

Private equity owners Blackstone and CVC are selling a chunk of their shares, although Kirkbi, the Danish family-owned investment company which owns the Lego and Legoland trademarks and 75 per cent of the Lego Group, will retain a significant shareholding.

Merlin put off plans for a listing in 2010 due to jittery markets, with shareholders instead selling a 28 per cent stake to CVC.

That sale valued the company at £2.25bn. The valuation of Merlin is based on an expected price range for the shares of between 280p and 330p.

The exact level will be disclosed when conditional dealings commence on November 12.

Merlin hopes to raise around £165m from the initial sale of shares and following the deduction of fees and commission.

Retail investors will have until November 8 to apply for shares through intermediaries.

The minimum application size will be £1,000 and shareholders will be entitled to a 30 per cent discount on either two adult Merlin Annual Passes or one family Merlin Annual Pass.

Between 10-15 per cent of the shareholding is expected to go to small retail investors.

Goldman Sachs and Barclays are running the sale, and are joint bookrunners along with Citi and Morgan Stanley.

Merlin is the latest high-profile firm to target a flotation on the London market, following recent debuts by Royal Mail and estate agency chain Foxtons.

The company, formed in 1999, made a previous attempt to float the business in 2010 but was thwarted by market conditions.

It generated revenues of more than £1bn last year and is Europe’s leading visitor attraction operator and the second largest globally after Walt Disney.

Merlin owns the York Dungeon and Scarborough Sea Life Sanctuary in Yorkshire.