Merlin Could Be Worth £3.3B

The upcoming initial public offering by Merlin Entertainment, which runs the London Eye and Madame Tussauds, could value the company at as much as £3.3 billion.

Heavy demand for shares means the group is expected to bring an early close to its offer to institutional investors.

The big money houses originally had until Nov. 11, but the UK business papers are predicting the shares could fetch as much as much as £3.30 and the closing moved up to Nov. 7.

When news of the IPO first broke, analysts were pitching the price at closer to £2.80. If the price does go as high as £3.30, the Sunday Times reckons that between £165 million and £180 million will go toward debt reduction, while £35 million will get soaked up by the IPO process.

Major investors such as Kirkbi, the Danish family trust that owns Lego, Blackstone and CVC Capital, could collectively pull in £800 million by playing down the size of their holdings.

Twelve Merlin directors could look forward to a £34 million payday.