Two of Merlin Entertainments' private equity backers sold 100 million shares in the British theme park owner for 366 million pounds ($615 million) on Friday, according to Deutsche Bank, one of the banks handling the sale.
_0">Plans to place the shares by CVC Capital Partners Ltd and Blackstone Group LP via Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley were announced after Thursday's close.
Merlin is the world's second-biggest operator of visitor attractions behind Walt Disney with brands such as Madam Tussauds and Legoland and counted Blackstone and CVC as its biggest shareholders after Kirkbi A/S, according to Thomson Reuters data.
($1 = 0.5956 British Pounds) (Reporting by Steve Slater; Editing by Pamela Barbaglia)