The entertainment group behind the Brighton Sea Life Centre has been snapped up for £102.5 million it was announced yesterday.

Merlin Entertainments, which also runs the London Dungeon, was bought by US private equity firm Blackstone, which is also bidding for the Legoland theme parks.

The deal for Merlin, whose attractions were visited by more than six million people last year, secures a major profit for seller Hermes Private Equity after it bought the firm for £72.5 million only 15 months ago.

Poole-based Merlin runs a total of 28 attractions in Europe under the Sea Life, Dungeons, Seal Sanctuary and Earth Explorer brands.

In the UK, it has attractions in London, York and Edinburgh, six Sea Life centres and seal sanctuaries in Cornwall, Scotland and Norfolk.

It also has sites in eight European countries including Germany, Finland, France and Spain.

Figures released yesterday showed the group increased the number of visitors to its centres by more than a million to 6.3 million last year and increased underlying earnings by 37 per cent to £10.6 million.

Its Sea Life Centre in Marine Parade, Brighton, dates back to the 19th Century and contains Europe's largest walk-through underwater fish observation tunnel and a shark pool.

A spokeswoman for Blackstone said staff would remain with the group under the leadership of chief executive Nick Varney and the rest of the management team.

If Blackstone is successful in its bid for Legoland from Danish owner Lego, the business is expected to be integrated into Merlin.

Joseph Baratta, a senior managing director at Blackstone, said the purchase would allow the group to roll out Merlin's brands farther across Europe.

He said: "We believe the European attractions and theme park sector will enter into a period of consolidation in the medium term and that Merlin is an excellent base from which to pursue follow-on acquisition opportunities."

Blackstone is mainly known for its deals in the US but yesterday's acquisition will help it break into Europe.

May 24, 2005