Company
Merlin Entertainments
LON:MERL
Merlin Entertainments Group casts its spell on tourists looking for amusement. The company is a leading operator of amusement parks and other entertainment venues with a total of more than 85 attractions in nearly 20 countries. It runs the LEGOLAND chain of theme parks with five locations in Europe and the US, along with the well-known Madame Tussauds wax museums. Other operations include Alton Towers Resort, the SEA LIFE aquariums in Europe, and the giant Ferris wheel known as The London Eye. Formed in 1999 through a buyout of Vardon Attractions, Merlin Entertainments is owned by a consortium of investors that includes private equity giant The Blackstone Group, LEGO Holding, and CVC Capital Partners.
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Last 'super Thursday' before Brexit as BoE, Shell and LSE updates eyed
On 1 August, other half-year updates include British American Tobacco, Barclays, Standard Chartered and Capita
After Merlin, is Cineworld the next UK entertainment group to be taken private?
Possibly, says RBC, which thinks Cineworld’s current investors are too short-term focused which has left the stock undervalued
Merlin Entertainments holds near level of £4.8bn takeover offer as brokers adjust ratings, target prices
KIRKBI AG, the investment vehicle of Lego’s founding Kirk Kristiansen family, private equity giant Blackstone, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, is offering 455p in cash per Merlin share
Merlin Entertainments accepts takeover deal from Lego family and Blackstone
Kirkbi AG, the vehicle of the Lego founding family, and private equity giant Blackstone, with the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board as a co-investor, have offered 455p cash per share
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes higher on day and week as world leaders meet
The mid-cap FTSE 250 added over 147 points to close at 19,462 on Friday
Merlin Entertainments urged to go private by activist investor ValueAct
Publishing letter might be attempt to flush out bidder say brokers
Merlin Entertainments shares fall as HSBC downgrades to 'reduce' from 'buy
Ultimately, HSBC does not see an obvious reason for Merlin to trade at a premium to UK-listed leisure groups such as Carnival or Cineworld
Investments and investor services
FTSE 100 closes higher after strong US jobs report boosts markets
Footsie closed up over 29 points on the day to close at 7,380, while the FTSE 250 added over 18 at 19,795
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HSBC to post weaker first quarter earnings as it tackles China slowdown
The day ahead includes first quarter earnings from HSBC and the all-important US non-farm payrolls report
Greene King toasts market outperformance but investors look to have hoped for more
In a trading update for the year ended 28 April, the FTSE 250 group said like-for-like sales were up 2.9%, helped by a strong Easter that saw LFL sales jump 4.6%
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Impressive first quarter performance needed from oil giant BP after recent share price rally
The Day Ahead also brings updates from the likes of blue-chip lender Standard Chartered, Premier Inn owner Whitbread and pubs group Greene King
Immotion to install its virtual reality pods at two major US aquariums
Immotion will install a range of VR cinematic motion pods on a revenue-share basis at Odysea Aquarium, in Scottsdale, Arizona, and The Maritime Aquarium, in Norwalk, Connecticut
accesso Technology raised to ‘buy’ from ‘add’ by Peel Hunt to reflect current valuation and future prospects
The City broker's analysts pointed out that the group’s re-platforming strategy will increase its ability to fulfil future deals in a more timely and cost-efficient way
Merlin Entertainments cut to ‘sell’ from ‘hold’ by Berenberg, which says stock “priced for perfection”
Berenberg analysts said they “struggle to see the company achieving EBIT growth in any division this year, despite its cost-savings plan and continued investment in new sites and hotels”
Merlin shares rise as theme park growth offsets LEGOLAND slowdown
The 0.3% decline in like-for-like revenues at LEGOLAND was blamed on a lack of “new news” as well as no LEGO movies being released during the year
FTSE 100 closes lower as Chinese data dents sentiment
The UK's premier share index closed down around 32 points at 7,074
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IAG, Rolls Royce and British American Tobacco on the agenda for busy blue chip Thursday
Its set to be a busy day for blue-chip news in London on Thursday.
Merlin Entertainments shares dip as it sells Australian ski resorts to Vail Resorts for £95mln
The FTSE 250 owner of LEGOLAND and Madame Tussauds said the £95mln (A$174mln) deal was expected to close by June 2019