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Merlin Entertainments: General Discussion

Does make you wonder though, if Lego's owners wanted to get the Legolands back under their control, this first step would be the best way to do it.
 
ihaveaspergers said:
The reason I keep clarifying that it's kirkbi not lego is I think the fact that it was kirkbi and not Lego group taking control shows their focus isn't on legolands.
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Although you're right there is a distinction, it's got to be remembered that Kirkbi is heavily Lego-centric as a company. It's definitely their primary concern. And that's not a bad thing for the RTPs and Midways - applying the Lego values to them will do the world of good.
 
Islander said:
Although you're right there is a distinction, it's got to be remembered that Kirkbi is heavily Lego-centric as a company. It's definitely their primary concern. And that's not a bad thing for the RTPs and Midways - applying the Lego values to them will do the world of good.
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True but if the main focus behind this deal was Legoland then surely Lego group would be taking control so they can have even tighter integration.

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My only worry now is that it is July and Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington and Legoland haven't announced anything new yet for next year. (Please tell me if I have missed any announcements for new rides).
 
Thameslink Rail said:
My only worry now is that it is July and Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington and Legoland haven't announced anything new yet for next year. (Please tell me if I have missed any announcements for new rides).
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Well Legoland have the VIP program coming soon which I suppose counts as something new.
I'm curious if kirkbi will have as much focus on paid extras as public Merlin.

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Thameslink Rail said:
My only worry now is that it is July and Alton Towers, Thorpe Park, Chessington and Legoland haven't announced anything new yet for next year. (Please tell me if I have missed any announcements for new rides).
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That will be a park level concern and not related to this deal. As far as existing attractions are concerned it is business as usual until the deal goes ahead.
 
Tim said:
That will be a park level concern and not related to this deal. As far as existing attractions are concerned it is business as usual until the deal goes ahead.
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Could Merlin squeeze the budget further though?
 
Jb85 said:
Could Merlin squeeze the budget further though?
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Are we talking operational budget or CapEx? Operational budgets won't be set until closer to the next season (From my understanding). CapEx is what they need to approve in advance and was what I was referring to above. Any investments being made for the next year should already have been signed off or in the process of being signed off. Assuming the takeover isn't until the end of the year they won't be waiting for it to happen.
 
Tim said:
Are we talking operational budget or CapEx? Operational budgets won't be set until closer to the next season (From my understanding). CapEx is what they need to approve in advance and was what I was referring to above. Any investments being made for the next year should already have been signed off or in the process of being signed off. Assuming the takeover isn't until the end of the year they won't be waiting for it to happen.
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I meant capes. They may well have signed them off but surely could scrap them? There will be penalties with suppliers but that would probably still be cheaper than the capex outlay.

Edit- I mean from a cash perspective- obviously any capex investment would boost the balance sheet and be depreciated over a number of years
 
I think they will be more pragmatic about money if the buyout is going to go through at the agreed sum. Capex budget for rides and attractions that will be open this time next year is very unlikely to be touched.
 
Have we heard any additional news? For example, has the buyout actually been completed yet?
 
grrrr said:
So, I just saw this recent article about the Blackstone/Merlin deal 'unsettling' analysts.

But, I've no idea what any of it means. Can someone ELI5 for me?
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It’s more a commentary on the wider economy as Merlin have been able to get aggressive terms (in their favour) for debt they are taking on to complete the buy-out.

I’m no economist but it looks like bond investors are willing to take risks, bonds are seen as relatively safe investments so my guess is if investors are taking higher risks on safe investments then it suggests the economy is making them nervous about traditionally higher risk investments. Economists seem to use debt trends as an indicator of strengths or weaknesses in global economy.
 
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Bump!

Buyout set to complete on the 4th November.

The takeover of entertainment and attraction giant Merlin is set to complete after the deal was sanctioned by the High Court.

In June it was revealed that a newly formed vehicle led by the owner of the LEGO brand and Blackstone Core Equity Partners had agreed a deal to take Merlin Entertainments private.

Berkeley Bidco will buy the entire share capital of Merlin, other than the stake owned or controlled by KIRKBI, Kirk Kristiansen family's private holding and investment company.

The move values the Poole-headquartered company behind the likes of Alton Towers, Madame Tussauds and Thorpe Park at £4.766bn and implies an enterprise value of £5.9bn.

The deal is expected to complete on 4 November 2019.
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