Merlin's Amusement Park Magic

London - Among companies thatTransformer DVD Box set run attractions designed for family fun, Merlin Entertainments Group is bigger than Universal Studios and Six Flags and second only to Walt Disney (DIS).Mash dvd Season But if you've never thought of Merlin beyond the mythical sorcerer, How I Met Your Mother DVDyou're not alone. You do, though, probably know Merlin's attractionsThe Office Seasons dvd: Madame Tussauds wax museums, Legoland theme parks, the giant London Everybody Loves Raymond dvdEye Ferris wheel The Shield dvd seasonacross the Thames Greys Anatomy dvdsfrom Big Ben,Tales from the Crypt dvds and more. "No one on the planet has the brands that we have," Nick30 Rock dvd box set Varney, Merlin's 47-year-old chief executive, says in the original Madame Tussauds in The Big Bang Theory dvdLondon, where wax figures of Michael Jackson, Barack Obama, and Elvis eyeball one another across Farscape season dvda room packed with camera-toting visitors.
"A KID LET LOOSE IN A TOYLittle Dorrit dvd SHOP"

The big-name brands explain why Merlin is the fastest-growing majorFamily Guy dvd season player in the business. The company is majority-owned by New York private equity giantGreys Anatomy dvds Blackstone Group (BX), which paid $195 million for most of Merlin in 2005. That The Closer dvdyear the company saw pretax profits of $28 million on sales of $87 million; by 2008 (the most recent data available) profits had hitCSI Miami Season dvd $405 million and revenues topped $1.3 billion. "Sometimes I have to pinch myself. I feel like Mash dvd Seasona kid let loose in a toy shop," VMash dvd Seasonarney says as he prepares to jet How I Met Your Mother DVDoff to Orlando The Beatles Collection dvdsto unveil a new Legoland at the site of the now-shuttered Cypress Gardens.The Shield dvd season Last year, Varney clockedDollhouse dvd more than 100,000 air Tales from the Crypt dvdsmiles Criminal Minds dvdkeeping an eye The Big Bang Theory dvdon 60 attractions on three Mash dvd Seasoncontinents.

Investors are now hoping for a bit of Merlin's magic.True Blood dvd season AnalystsFamily Guy dvd season believe an initial public offering of Merlin shares could Transformer DVD Box setraise some $3.3 billion. That would make it The Shield dvd seasonthe largest listing Greys Anatomy dvdson the London Stock Exchange in two years. While Varney won'tLittle Dorrit dvd comment, Nick Batram, a leisure CSI Miami Season dvdanalyst at brokerage KBC Peel Hunt in London, says there's mounting investor interest and reckons How I Met Your Mother DVDan IPO could happen as30 Rock dvd box set early as theThe Closer dvd second quarter.

It's little wonder that investors are eager to get a share of Merlin's growth. Visitors to attractions Merlin has owned for more than a year rose 17% in 2008, to 38 million, Merlin says. The industry worldwide saw attendance fall by 0.4%, according to Los Angeles consultancy AECOM (ACM), and analysts see a similar picture for 2009. Some rivals have fared far worse. As U.S. unemployment rose and consumer spending tumbled, True Blood dvd seasonSix Flags—which owns 20 amusement parks in 14 North American cities—filed for Chapter 11 Greys Anatomy dvdsbankruptcy protection last June. "MerlinCSI Miami Season dvd is the rising star of the industry," says John Apprentice DVDGerner, managing The Big Bang Theory dvddirector of consultancy Leisure Business Advisors in Richmond, Va.
FISH AND FERRIS WHEELS

The key to Merlin's success is The Office Seasons dvddiversification. LikeFarscape season dvd Disney, the company operates vacation resorts such as its bigger Legolands and Alton Towers, a combo theme- and water-park in northern England that boasts six roller coasters. These attractions relyThe Beatles Collection dvds on Little Dorrit dvdpeople traveling long distances and The Shield dvd seasonspending big bucks, so Merlin—along with other park operators—has been forced tEverybody Loves Raymond dvdo offer discounted tickets and promotions such as cheap annualGreys Anatomy dvds passesDollhouse dvd. But unlike its biggest competitors, Merlin alsoMash dvd Season runs smaller attractions in Chicago, Washington, Munich, and elsewhere. Local families can spend a day there for under $100,True Blood dvd season which has kept them coming through the turnstiles even if they can't afford a trip to Disney World. "A museum, aquarium, or other family Family Guy dvd seasonentertainment center is seen as good value for money," says John Robinett, a The Big Bang Theory dvdsenior vice-president How I Met Your Mother DVDat AECOM.

That's certainly true for Merlin's Sea30 Rock dvd box set Life Aquarium in London. On a cold Saturday in January, more than 40 families speaking everything from English to Polish to Mandarin line up to see the riverside attraction, which the The Shield dvd seasoncompany bought in Greys Anatomy dvds2008. For $75, a family is treated to shark-filledMash dvd Season tanks, poolsTransformer DVD Box set teeming with stingrays and tropical fish, and talks on marine conservation. Merlin CSI Miami Season dvdoffers extras, such as kids' face painting for $5 and group photos for $15, that can easily add up Criminal Minds dvdto the entrance Mash dvd Seasonfee.

At the nearby London Eye, Tales from the Crypt dvdslocals and tourists The Closer dvdwait to pay the $80 for a family ticket that will take them 442 feet above the ThamesThe Office Seasons dvd for 30 minutes. "Even when the weather is bad, you've got to find something to entertain the kids,"Greys Anatomy dvds says Jeremy Butler, a 37-year-old accountant from central England Apprentice DVDvisiting LondonEverybody Loves Raymond dvd with his Family Guy dvd seasonwife and two children. "Compared to a holiday in France or Spain, Little Dorrit dvdthe London Eye isn't that expensive."

London may be home, but Merlin is betting on city attractions wellTales from the Crypt dvds beyond its base. Four Madame Tussauds are in the U.S., a LegolandHow I Met Your Mother DVD is comingMash dvd Season to Dallas next year, and a $15 million Sea Life center is to open in Phoenix this spring. At the Meadowlands in New Jersey,True Blood dvd season MerlinCSI Miami Season dvd plans to open a Legoland and operate a 287-foot-tall The Big Bang Theory dvdFerris wheel, to be called the Pepsi Globe, with views across the Hudson to the Manhattan skyline. In Asia, Madame Greys Anatomy dvdsTussauds is in Shanghai, Hong Kong, and (soon) Bangkok.Dollhouse dvd A Legoland in Malaysia will open by 2012. "The U.S. and Asia are where most of Merlin's growth will come in the next The Beatles Collection dvdsfive years," Family Guy dvd seasonsays Joseph Baratta, a senior managing director at Blackstone and a member of Merlin'sThe Shield dvd season management committee.

Analysts reckon Merlin could also buy parks, Farscape season dvdparticularly if cash-strapped smaller locations in the U.S. go up for sale. "If you're a new kid on the block like Merlin, you've got to be out there staking your flags," says Dennis Speigel, president of consultancy International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati. "They're Criminal Minds dvdon the offensive and are Doctor Who dvdsready to act."