Merlin spells out future IPO on FTSE100
MADAME Tussauds owner Merlin Entertainment Group is in the last stages of planning a £2bn main market listing.
JP Morgan Cazenove, Deutsche Bank, BNP Parabis, Citi and Merrill Lynch are all believed to be vying for the position of bookrunner.
The string of banks are now just waiting for a decision by Merlin and its private equity owner Blackstone.
It is believed a listing of the world’s second biggest entertainment group could be worth from £1.75bn to more than £2bn. And if private equity owner Blackstone were to include resorts group Center Parcs in the listing, which it bought back in 2006, it is thought it will guarantee a FTSE 100 entrance.
In 2008 Merlin made £662m in revenues, bolstered by 2007’s acquisition of the Tussauds Group, which owned theme park Alton Towers, as well as the waxwork firm.
Although its debt now stands at £1bn, the size of the company means it is not as overburdened as some of its peers, but it will need to reduce its debt ahead of a listing.
For this reason big hitters Citi and Goldman have already been tipped as favourites, for their ability to refinance the debt mountain.