COPENHAGEN (Reuters) -Danish toymaker Lego said on Wednesday it will buy 29 discovery centres from theme park operator Merlin Entertainments in a 200 million pounds ($269.5 million) deal, in line with a strategy to strengthen control over consumer interactions with its brand.
The indoor entertainment venues featuring Lego building zones, creative workshops and retail outlets have around five million visitors per year, the companies said in a joint statement.
“They will be an important addition to our global network of retail stores and allow us to offer fans of all ages even more memorable hands-on brand and shopping experiences,” Lego CEO Niels Christiansen said in a statement.
The maker of colourful plastic bricks has expanded its store footprint in recent years, taking the global total to some 1,079 branded stores in 54 markets.
Merlin, which also operates attractions such as the Madame Tussauds wax museums and the London Eye observation wheel, will continue to run 11 Legoland theme parks globally under licence from Lego, the companies said.
Of the discovery centres, 15 are located in North America, seven in Europe, and seven spread across the Asia-Pacific region in China, Japan and Australia.
Lego, founded in Denmark in 1932, derives its name from “leg godt,” meaning “play well” in Danish.
($1 = 0.7422 pounds)
(Reporting by Soren Jeppesen and Stine Jacobsen, editing by Terje Solsvik)
