LEGO acquires LEGO Discovery Centres and LEGOLAND Discovery Centres from Merlin Entertainments

LEGO has acquired LEGO Discovery Centres and LEGOLAND Discovery Centres from Merlin Entertainments for a cash consideration of £0.2bn.

The acquisition includes 29 Centres in nine countries which attract around five million visitors each year.

“We are excited to welcome the Discovery Centres to the LEGO Group,” said LEGO Group CEO, Niels B Christiansen.

“They will play an important role in helping us to connect with even more fans around the world. We are looking forward to more than 1,500 talented colleagues joining the team and continuing to delight millions of guests each year. We would like to thank Merlin Entertainments for their work over the past 20 years to build fun, playful brand experiences around the world.”

Merlin Entertainments CEO, Fiona Eastwood, added: “We are immensely proud of the Centres and the role they have played in inspiring children and families through play for nearly two decades. As they join the LEGO Group, Merlin will strengthen its focus on bringing the LEGO brand to life on an epic scale through LEGOLAND Resorts. We look forward to building on our long-standing partnership with the LEGO Group to bring more families together through play.”

Merlin continues to operate 11 resorts under long-term licence from the LEGO Group, including the recently opened LEGOLAND Shanghai.