Merlin Entertainments to float on London Stock Exchange

A worker at Legoland – owned by Merlin Entertainments – readies life-sized Star Wars figures for display. Photograph: David Levene for the Guardian

Merlin Entertainments is planning to float on the London Stock Exchange in a move which could value it at around £3bn.

The private-equity backed owner of Alton Towers and Madame Tussauds said it would offer at least 20% of the company to institutional and private investors, using £200m

from the sale of shares to reduce debt.

Merlin is the world's second largest operator of visitor attractions behind Walt Disney, with 54 million visitors and £1.1bn of revenues in 2012. It has a total of 99 attractions in 22 countries including Legoland, the London Eye, Sea Life and Thorpe Park in the UK. Merlin abandoned earlier flotation plans in 2010 because of market volatility.

Private equity shareholders Blackstone and CVC as well as Kirkbi, a Danish family-owned investment company, are expected to sell a proportion of their stake.

Nick Varney, Merlin's chief executive, said: "Merlin Entertainments comes to the market with a consistent record of strong growth in both revenues and profits and bright prospects for the future.

"We have successfully followed a clear and proven strategy to build a high-growth international family entertainment business, built on strong brands and a portfolio of attractions balanced by geographies, products and demographics.

"The initial public offering will provide Merlin with the platform for our next stage of development and allow us to plan for the longer term."

Private investors will have the opportunity to buy a minimum of £1,000 shares, and will be entitled to a 30% discount on two adult Merlin annual passes or one family pass.

Merlin said it was confident that future growth would be driven by an increase in leisure time, international tourism, and the short break market.

It is already developing a Legoland Park in Dubai and is also targeting potential expansion in Japan, South Korea and China.

Group revenue increased by 11.1% to £888.7m in the 35 weeks to 31 August, with like-for-like growth of 7.1%.