It was listed on the London Stock Exchange until November 2019, when it was acquired by a consortium that includes Kirkbi A/S (the investment arm of the Kristiansen family, which controls The Lego Group).

[9] On 15 January 2010, Merlin Entertainments bought Cypress Gardens, a defunct theme park in Winter Haven, Florida.

[15] In late 2010, it was announced that Merlin would purchase approximately A$116 million worth of entertainment attractions located in Australia and New Zealand from Village Roadshow Theme Parks.

[17] This was followed by the $140 million acquisition of Living and Leisure Australia which owned several attractions in the Asia-Pacific region including UnderWater World, Melbourne Aquarium, Falls Creek Alpine Resort, Hotham Alpine Resort, Otway Fly, Illawarra Fly, Busan Aquarium and Siam Ocean World.

Deposed by the Australian Labor Party in the evening of 26 June, and replaced by Kevin Rudd, the publicity stunt drew wide attention and international criticism for the alleged disrespect it cast on the first female prime minister of Australia.

[25] On 5 December 2019, Entertainment One announced a new multi-territory partnership with Merlin that would open an interactive PJ Masks nautical-themed trail throughout the company's Sea Life aquariums worldwide starting in February 2020.

Chicago at The Streets of Woodfield Columbus at Easton Town Center Dallas Fort Worth at Grapevine Mills Kansas City at Crown Center Michigan at the Great Lakes Crossing Outlets New Jersey at American Dream Meadowlands Philadelphia at the Plymouth Meeting Mall Westchester (New York) at Westchester's Ridge Hill Washington at Springfield Town Center San Antonio at the Shops at Rivercenter Toronto at Vaughan Mills Melbourne at the Chadstone Shopping Centre Beijing Shanghai Shenyang Hong Kong Osaka Tokyo Istanbul Scheveningen Brussels[29] Manchester London Scarborough Weymouth Loch Lomond Bray Blankenberge Berlin Hanover Königswinter Konstanz Munich Oberhausen Speyer Timmendorfer Strand Helsinki Jesolo The Hague Porto Benalmadena Istanbul Paris Arizona Orlando New Jersey San Antonio Melbourne Mooloolaba (Sunshine Coast) Sydney Auckland Shanghai Nagoya Iskandar Puteri Busan Bangkok In February 2016, Merlin purchased a 15% shareholding in Big Bus Tours.