Legoland owner Merlin Entertainments to float in November
The owner of Legoland, Merlin Entertainments, has said it could be valued at up to £3.3bn when it floats on the London stock market in November.
The company, which also owns Madame Tussauds, expects to price its shares at between 280p and 330p. The share price would value the company at between £2.86bn and £3.34bn. Merlin Entertainments says between 20% and 30% of the company will be sold in the listing, which is expected to raise £200m to help reduce its debts. The UK company also operates the London Eye, Alton Towers and Chessington World of Adventures. Retail investors can apply for a minimum of £1,000 worth of shares, and shareholders will get discounts for annual passes to Merlin's attractions. The company, which has 99 attractions in 22 countries, has estimated up to 15% of the offer will be allocated to members of the public. Nick Varney, chief executive at Merlin Entertainments, said: "The listing will provide us with the platform for our next stage of development." The group announced that new branches of its waxwork museums would be opened in San Francisco and Beijing next year, while new Legoland parks will be opened in Dubai and potentially Japan and South Korea.