News: Tussauds Group purchased

Posted at 5:41 PM EST (2241 GMT)

Mar. 5th, 2007 -- The Tussauds Group, operators of four theme parks including Alton Towers and Heide Park, was purchased by the New York-based Blackstone Group for $1.9 billion in a deal announced today. Tussauds will be operated under Blackstone's Merlin Entertainment division, which also runs the Legoland theme parks and Italy's largest park, Gardaland.

Tussauds was purchased from Dubai International Capital, which bought the group in 2005 for $1.5 billion. The deal makes Merlin Entertainment one of the biggest operators of tourist destinations in the world, second only to Disney. In 2006, Merlin and Tussauds combined brought in over 30 million guests.

Blackstone says it is looking to expand in the American market.

See the International Herald Tribune for more.