Merlin Entertainments Group Ltd is a British operator of amusement parks and other attractions. It is the largest such company in Europe, and globally the second largest after Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.
Headquartered in Poole, United Kingdom, Merlin Entertainments operates over sixty attractions in ten European countries, as well as the USA, China and Hong Kong. Its success has been underpinned by strong partnership arrangements with both public and private sectors, with organisations as diverse as Disney and the Worldwide Fund for Nature.
The Financial Times reported that Merlin Entertainments owned by Blackstone Group would file an IPO in the second quarter of 2010. Merlin would be listed on the London Stock Exchange. If true this would be the second of Blackstone's 8 currently planned IPOs, the first being Team Health Holdings, Inc. However, the flotation plans were reported to have been abandoned in February 2010.
In 2009, the company's properties hosted an estimated 38.5 million guests, making it the second-most visited theme park operator in the world, behind only Walt Disney Parks & Resorts.
Source: Wikipedia
